The Real Final Battle
by InfinityGuardian
Summary: Steve realized the truth of Minecraft. The End was a fake, the Nether a small obstacle. Everything is a lie... A thousand years later, and the time comes to fix the mistakes of the past, and an ancient evil rises again. However, not everything is as it seems, and sometimes the greatest enemy might be closer than you think...(I don't own Minecraft or any characters beside my OC's)
1. Chapter 1

Ok so this is a basic one shot I wrote just to announce my new account. There are two characters in this story and you can probably guess who they are... Sorry in advance for any spelling errors and yes it's suppose to look like this. My next story will look much better. Also please review, even if it's: this is really bad.

* * *

Deep in the heart of Minecraftia two figures faced each other.

So you made it after all...

You came so far on hope, defied everything you had ever been told...

Realized that everything you see before you is a lie...

For that I congratulate you...

For being the only one to notice the truth hidden inside the code...

A truth that everyone knows but will never admit...

The Enderdragon wasn't the final boss Steve...

You knew all along that it was to easy...

To simple...

Not at all like you would expect...

So you defied them...

Yes, you defied their foolish lies...

The lies that the universe has told you...

And you came here...

To face me...

You are a fool...

That was the last mistake you will ever make...

The figure leaped into the air diamond sword in hand. Steve waited for death to come. For so long he had prepared for this battle. His mind flashed back over the course of this game.

A shack in the woods, his first sword and first mining trip, when he met the creepers that nearly killed him, and the wolf he befriended. The first time he traveled to the end seeking his destiny, and learned that there was much more to this game then he was ever told. So now he stood staring death in the eye and preparing to meet his doom.

"Don't worry Wolf," Steve muttered to the sky. "I'll join you soon."


	2. Chapter 2

I decided that this could actually be a story... At first I thought it was a one shot because it was sad and gloomy and kind of depressing. Then I realized that there was another story line I have been creating which could totally mash up with The Real Final Battle or TRBL and work as a pretty good story... I would also like to say thliked going to need some OC's for this story anywhere from main characters to support if you do submit an OC it can't be part mob or a mob, and actual first names not usernames... That's a lot of rules...XD SORRY

* * *

(1000 years later)

Jumping out of bed Herobrine runs down the halls of his Nether castle. Something was wrong, he wasn't completely sure what it was at the moment, however his instincts told him something was horribly wrong. Throwing aside the door, he dives into the Aether portal.

For a few moments there is a silent blackness before the Aether materializes. Ignoring the front entrance Herobrine starts to climb up the building aiming for the top floor. Within seconds his Demi-God ability allows him to reach the top floor and break through a window.

"Notch! What is happening," Herobrine yells at his brother.

The other figure groggily looks up in confusion and mutters, "Herobrine why are you in my house at three in the morning?"

"Something is wrong," Herobrine shouts,"I don't know what it is but my instincts are going insane..."

"Hero," Notch replies with a yawn. "Nothing has happened, and nothing is going to happen."

"Something must have happened..." Herobrine argues angrily.

"Nothing has happened," Notch replies in annoyance. "Now I would recommend you return to the Nether and try to get some sleep."

Turning Herobrine groans and walks toward the broken window.

"The front door is over there," Notch adds as Herobrine climbs out the window and disappears.

Waiting a few more moments Notch let's out a deep sigh. He had never lied to his brother before, or at least never told him a flat out lie...

Standing up he walks toward the hallway. On the walls of the hall hang pictures of the greatest heroes of Minecraft. Wandering down the hall he remembers each ones story. The trials they faced, the evils they conquered...

At the very end of the hallway was an empty frame marked Steve -The first hero of Minecraft-

Every other hero in all of history now resided in the Aether, everyone but Steve. Notch had never expected Herobrine to hate the first hero so much...

They were alike in very many ways... however it was Herobrine who killed him. Steve died before his quest was complete, but because of this he had a chance to right the wrongs. After 1'000 years, Steve could return again to finish his quest. So Notch had to be extremely careful to never let Herobrine know of Steve's existence.

The door behind him flew open revealing a valkyrie and two humans.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, but these two insisted on speaking with you," the valkyrie explains.

"All right you may leave now," Notch mutter in reply.

The two humans approach both wearing black cloaks.

"Notch, Steve has returned to Minecraft after 1'000 years," the boy states darkly.

"Yes I realized that a little while ago," Notch replies shaking his head. "Does he remember anything from his past life?"

"Our reports show that it's unlikely he remembers anything from his past," the girl answers fidgeting with a handheld data device.

"However it never hurts to be certain," the boy adds quickly casting a disapproving glance at the girl. She quickly slips the device in her pocket and returns to the conversation.

"Notch, don't you think Herobrine will try to kill him again?" the girl asks carefully.

Notch grows slightly pale and replies, "Yes, but I sort of messed with... Herobrines memories... so that...he can't remember...Steve."

"So you basically distorted your brothers memories for your own personal gain, " the boy adds raising an eye brow.

"Well it sounds awful when you put it that way..." Notch mutters defensively.

"Of course, but just in case I took the liberty of preparing this," the boy adds holding out a silver sword. "I added a bit of magic to power it up a bit."

"And I added some cool science features so it can light up in the dark and..." the girl explains happily, getting a sideways glance from the boy.

"You did what to this sword?" The boy asks slightly angry.

"I'll leave you two to work this out," Notch adds taking the sword. "I can make sure he gets this."

Leaving the room he stops at the edge of the balcony. Below the floating islands was the Overworld. A little girl slowly rises into the clouds and lands in the fields below.

"Can you run an errand for me," Notch asks teleporting behind the girl.

"I... I guess..," the little girl replies in confusion.

"I need you to take this sword and hold onto it for me," Notch explains quietly.

"How long do I need to carry it," she asks carefully.

"Not very long, I need you to deliver it to you're older sister," he finishes.

"Ok... I'll go give it to her," the little girl replies jumping off the cloud island.

Letting out a sigh of exhaustion Notch turns toward his palace. The little girl would reach her sister in no time, and she would know what to do with the blade...

* * *

That's chapter two! *Mini party in head* I hope you guys liked it pls write a review cause I work faster with encouragement. Also in you want to read some AMAZING writing go read- The Miners Destiny-Danger- Mortal- Danger- Gone- Who Am I- Minecraft project- because they are amazing stories! (Like I stayed up for hours and hours trying to read them good)... I said Danger twice... Well it's staying cause it's just that awesome of a story...


	3. Chapter 3

Hello! Infinite Guardien here and I have written chapter three! Anyways I added Leo, not exacately as a character but as a reference. One thing about my story is that there are a TON of references. A lot of the mysterious characters are special and the perfectly normal characters aren't always...normal.

* * *

I walk into town, it's a little past two in the afternoon. Most of the other humans are out trading in the market, or practicing various crafts.

" Steve?" A voice questions behind me.

Glancing behind me I notice a girl about my age with long,slightly curly brown hair and emerald green eyes.

"Hey Maria, long time no see," I reply with a smile.

"Dude! Where in the Nether have you been?" She yells angrily. "Everyone was so worried about you."

"I just went mining for a few days, it's not a big deal," I reply defensively. "You can't exactly see the sun underground..."

"You should still tell someone first," Maria adds slightly more sympathetic. "It's only been a week sense you spawned, and you don't understand our world yet."

A little boy runs up and starts tugging on Maria's hand. "Mrs. Maria, I can't find the book I'm looking for," he states pointing toward the library.

"Just a second i'll be right in," she replies as the little boy scrambles into the library.

"Well I guess I better go help him," she groans walking towards the library. "Just remember to tell some one next time you leave, ok?"

I just laugh and reply, "fine, shouldn't be to much of a problem."

She watches me as I leave, probably wondering if I would actually take her advice or not. Can't exactly blame her either, it was highly unlikely I would.

Turning a few corners I reach my house, or as I have taken to calling it, the shack. I'm not particularly good at building things, but this was probably a new low even for me...

Opening the old wooden door I stumble inside the dimly lit shack. Throwing the excess stone and dirt in the chest I lay out my meager possessions on the floor. Setting the ores in the furnace I leave to find Maria. I know a few others in town, but they're probably out hunting or farming.

When I near the old building I stop to admire the architecture. Something about the old stone brick pillars and broken cobblestone stair walls reminds me of some where, but I can't remember.

Entering the old library, I spot Maria helping the little boy from before find a book.

"Which book do you want to read?" She asks flipping through a bookshelf.

"The Crafting Chronicles: New beginnings," the little boy says happily.

"Of course the tale of Leo and Zoey..." she adds approvingly pulling the book off the shelf. "A worthy novel indeed."

The little boy runs off to read this new story leaving me and Maria alone.

"Who's the little kid," I ask glancing at the little boy.

"Mark, one of the newer orphans in this town," she replies casting the boy a sympathetic glance. "Its pretty hard losing your parents when you're only eight..."

"He seems to like the books quite a bit," I add changing the subject.

"Yeah," she says with half a smile. " He would make a good apprentice..."

"Aren't you a little young to be retiring?I ask raising an eyebrow. "I mean you just turned 17."

"Trust me, I'm not retiring any time soon," she replies quickly. "I'm just being careful, you never know even the next creeper attack will be... Hey, don't you think you should meet some of the others?"

"Well I was planning on meeting some of the others eventually, but I got so busy and..." I mumble unsure what to stay.

"You haven't met any of the other teens yet?" she asks in shock. "A few of us are meeting tommorow night behind the old farm, and you can come if you want."

"Well i guess if it isn't to much of a problem..." I reply carefully. "It would be nice to meet some of the others."

"Ok so everyone's meeting at around midnight,"Maria explains. "Just remember to bring a weapon."

"Why do I need a weapon exactly?" I question as she walks away.

She laughs and replies,"We live in Minecraft, you bring a weapon everywhere."

* * *

"Brother, you need to answer me," a voice rings out. "I know you can hear me, there's no use in hiding."

"I can hear you sister," a second voice echos. "The war has begun again, correct."

"Yes, I have spoken with our younger sister," the first voice states. "She will side with the humans."

"Which side do you choose?" the second voice questions.

"I am not sure, I have not chosen,"replies the first.

"Mortals or Gods... Is that even a question? We must fight for our kin," the second growls.

Laughing the first asks,"Which side would that be?"

"With each other," replies the second.

"Very well, the Gods have lost powerful allies," adds the first.

"Hmm... they're already already over-powered," states the second.

"I agree," the first replies. "But more will join us as the fighting grows."

"That is what I fear..." the second says sadly. "That is what I'm afraid of..."

* * *

Sitting backwards I'm my chair I finish the last chapter of the book. These authors never cease to amaze me with their plot twists. Staring our the window my eyes adjust to the darkness. Judging from the sky, its around the third or fourth hour of morning. My eyes strain a little, as my vision focuses on a lone figure walking though the clearing.

Instantaly my hand grabs the iron sword I keep attached to my belt. Was it Herobrine?Theres a knock at the door before the figure enters.

"Maria, are you still awake?" The person asks walking into the library.

"Yes I'm still awake..." I reply, pretending to be half asleep.

"Oh, sorry if I woke you," the mysterious figure says pulling off her black cloak, "But I kinda need some advice..."

The girl looks about my age, with shoulder length black hair and dark brown eyes. She's wearing a orange tee with black stripes and jeans.

A few seconds later, my memory snaps back into place and I remember the girl. Stripes, or at least that was the name she told us to call her. She moved here from the seaside jungle town after it was destroyed.

"What kind of advice?" I ask curiously. She comes to my library, in earliest hours of the day, wanting advice? Advice on what?

"I can't sleep," Stripes murmurs drearily. "I keep hearing this voice in my head, and it won't go away."

My head makes the connection immediately, but I ask her another question. "Who's voice are you hearing?"

Stripes stares at me in horror and whispers, "I think that it's him..."

The last piece snaps into place, this was the work of Herobrine. My hand tightens its grip on the iron sword. He was trying to take control of another human, and it has to be a girl in this village...

"Maria, do you know what this means..." she asks shivering slightly.

No, she's just another human right now, he can't control her...yet.

"Stripes," I begin to whisper urgently. "You must never, ever, speak to this person who is in your head again. Do you understand?"

She nods quickly and her body appears to relax slightly. It looks like she can block him out, for now... Looking around my library she spots a picture of my family and almost screams.

"What's wrong?" I ask anxiously scanning the picture for anything dangerous."

"It's a... a...a... Wolf," she whimpers huddling in the corner.

"It's just a family painting Stripes," I reply while flipping over the painting. "Don't you think you should return home now?"

"Right," she says, still staring at the picture frame. "Thank you for the advice Maria, I think I can sleep now."

Once Stripes leaves, I hang the painting back up and glance at it for just a second.

In the picture, my mom and little brother sit together in a wheat feild and tinker with some electronic gadgets. My old wolf pet chases a cat in the backround. Almost all of my family is gone now. My parents formed this town nearly twenty years ago. Now my family consists of me, and my younger brother and sister. All because of that creeper attack two years ago...

* * *

Anybody catch the little character reference? If not that is ok because it will be revealed later... But if you think you might know who the parents are PM me and i will tell you if youre right. I need a few more OC's especially boys. Also you might be wondering about who Maria is... Well let's just say she is a pretty major character in this story... Just leave any questions in the review box and I will answer them next chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

This is kind of a sad chapter... next chapter all of the remaining OC's come in! For three chapters I have been hinting at something, but no one caught it so i put yet anither clue in for anyone who watches Yogcast. Also I don't own Minecraft or Mojang or anything else...

* * *

A thin strip of sunlight was trickling into my room when I awoke. From the looks of things, I had slept well into the afternoon. Glancing around the shack, I notice that the furnaces finished smelting the ores overnight. Grabbing two pieces of iron, I attempt to craft a sword.

After a solid hour of trying different crafting recipes, I end up with two iron on top of a wooden stick. I can't believe it took me so long just to make a stupid sword...

The sun starts to set outside my window, and I should probably make sure everyone is still meeting tonight.

Leaving the house I tuck the sword into my belt, and slam the door behind me. I don't want return to a house full of creepers...

When I reach the library Mark is sitting on the porch reading a book and nibbling on a piece of bread.

"Is Maria here?" I ask the little boy.

Looking up in confusion he meets my gaze, his deep blue eyes seem to sink into me.

"No she went to the Cemetery," he replies returning to his book.

"Ok, thanks," I add walking away. That child was so young, yet appeared to have lost so much.

I walk along the borders of town until I reach an old cobblestone fence. A single tree stands alone in the clearing, and a few graves have fresh flowers laid beneath them. Under the tree are two plain matching graves that hide in the shadows. As I walk over I notice Maria leaning against the old tree.

This probably isn't the best time to ask here about the meeting, so I stand there silently respecting the graves.

"They were all like us once," Maria whispers, breaking the silence. "Places to be, things to do..."

"It's the fate that awaits everyone eventually," I reply after a long pause. "It's how you live your life that makes the difference."

She smiles a little and adds, " you sound like a psychiatrist."

Were both silent for a few moments.

"Are these your parents?" I ask quietly looking down at the graves.

"Yeah," Maria replies slowly. "They were both mercenaries, always telling me stories about their adventures. When they retired they helped form this town, and they died trying to save it from a creeper attack."

"I'm so sorry," I murmur gazing at the graves. "The community must honor them as heroes."

"They deserve more than that," she mutters shaking her head.

"It's better to be a dead Hero, then a living legend," I reply. "Because even if they die, people will keep fighting for the cause."

"I guess that's how the first hero felt," Maria says with a sigh. "I'm guessing you came to double check the meeting time."

"Well originally that was why I came out here," I sputter carefully.

"I only convinced three others to come," she replies. "Just remember to bring a sword."

Maria turns and walks away not even glancing back at the graves. Leaning over I rearrange the flowers and notice the graves inscriptions.

Dusting off the front I realize that the graves are badly worn and most of the letters are missing.

R...E...M... may he rest in the Aether.

Z... M... TM... may she rest in the Aether.

For some reason the line: may they rest in the Aether is still completely intact. I realize someone is watching me and turn to see Mark leaving flowers at another grave. Placing the flowers on the bare earth he turns to leave and walks away.

Just before Mark leaves, he turns and places one last flower on the ground. Reading the inscription my mind begins to fade. Everything turns black the second I hit the ground.

-Steve, the first hero of Minecraft-

* * *

Frowning Herobrine awoke in his nether fortress. His brother had told him nothing was wrong, but for some reason he doubted it. Something was weird about this situation, Notch had to be lying...

Stepping out of his room hoards of zombie pigmen ran to meet him. A few ghasts shot him fiery welcomes before returning to their guard duty.

Entering the main hall a little girl runs past him before turning around to yell, "hi Herobrine, wonderful weather were having, don't you think?"

"This is the Nether," Herobrine replies with a sigh. "There is no weather."

"Oh, of course not," she replies blankly. "You really should visit the Overworld sometime, the weather is very nice up there."

"I'm planning on it," he states noticing a flower in the girls hand. "Wait, did you just come from the Overworld?"

"Of course," the little girl replies happily. "I had to run an errand for someone."

"Did anything seem... Odd to you while you were there?"he questions carefully.

"Not particularly," she replies. "I couldn't find my sister though, I need to give her this."

The little girl holds out a silver sword and waves it around a little. Staring at the sword Herobrine began to frown. Hadn't he seen this very sword before, and why would this little girl have it? Wait... Why was there a little girl in the Nether in the first place?

Grabbing his own sword, he swung the sword toward her neck only to watch it crack in half.

"That wasn't very nice," the little girl pouts.

"How did you destroy my sword?" Herobrine asks, lifting the broken obsidian mass.

"I'm a Demi god two silly!" she giggles skipping around the main hall.

Of course, if two heros finished their quests they gained immortality, then their children would become demi gods... Herobrine had never really understood Notchs reasoning for this.

"Sorry, I thought you were a human," he apologizes. "I can hold onto your sword for you, if you like."

"Really?" she ask with wide eyes. "That would be awesome, I really don't feel like tracking my sister down right now."

"Of course, I'll give it to her the next time she comes to the Nether," he replies.

"Thanks Herobrine," she yells, running towards the Aether portal. "Just make sure she gets it."

Leaning over Herobrine picks up the sword. It's obviously enchanted with many high level spells, even higher level than most of his own weapons. At the very center of the sword there's some sort of marking.

Recognizing the seal he throws it across the room in horror. This weapon, if in the hands of its hero, could harm a god or demi god. Normal mortal weapons would snap in half or wouldn't even be able to cause damage.

Grabbing the sword, he runs to the deepest part of the castle and locks it in a chest. No mortal should ever get possession of this weapon. Not ever.

* * *

A weapon that can kill Herobrine? Children of heros are demi gods? Who was that little girl? Why was that chapter so sad? Did you figure out who Maria's parents are? If not thats ok. This is a very confusing chapter so leave your questions in a review and I will try to answer them. Also my next chapter will either be on Tuesday or late Monday because of my insane schedule. (Or REALLY early Monday two...) Still needing a few OC's as well. (NO THEY CANT BE DEMI GODS) just had to say that because then everyone would want to be a Demi god... So yeah chapter four!


	5. Chapter 5

Ok this chapter is so long! I stayed up until like one writing it. All the OC's belong to their respective submitters blah blah blah. NOW YOU CAN READ STORY!

* * *

Hey, are you ok?

My head collides with something as I sit up. Groaning, I glance up and notice that I'm right under the old grave. Did I pass out?

"Oh good, you woke up," a voice says extending a hand to help me up.

"How long was I out," I ask, as my head spins in and out of focus.

"A few hours," the voice replies. "Not that much really."

Looking up I notice a boy a little younger then me with ginger hair and ice blue eyes. For some reason he's wearing a black cloak that is a little to long for him. ,and the moon shines brightly overhead, meaning midnight can't be far off.

"Is you're name by chance, Steve?" the boy asks jumping in front of me.

"Umm... Yeah," I reply honestly. How does this kid know my name?

"Awesome," he yells jumping up and down before grabbing my hand. "Come on, the meeting will be starting any minute now!"

Suddenly, he starts running out of the graveyard at top speed dragging me along. I try to keep up, but my legs give out, and I find myself sliding through the gravel at a great speed.

Turning a corner,the boy suddenly stops, causing me to accelerate forward. I crash into someone before landing in a patch of sand.

"Steve," the boy from before yells. "You should watch where you're going!"

"You just dragged me through half of town," I reply angrily. "Where the Nether are we anyways."

Glancing around, the clearing is filled with a few other teens, each watching our conversation with expressions from bewilderment to humor. First is a boy with dirty blond hair, blue eyes, and a black shirt with jeans. From the looks of it, he was the one I ran into...

The second is a girl with light brown hair and pale green eyes, she's wearing an orange hoodie with grey jeans and hunting boots. Judging from her height, she must be about the boy earliers age.

A girl with long black hair and dark brown eyes watches me carefully. Her orange tee shirt is covered in little black stripes with black jeans and... no shoes.

The last figure is a boy with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a black hoodie with jeans and military boots. He looks a little older than me by a year or two. On a second glance the tips of his hair are actually dyed blue.

The boy from before runs up and yells, "INTRODUCTION TIME!"

He runs around the circle and points to each teen and yells their name.

The boy I ran into is Brandon, the second one is named Apricot, the third one is Stripes, and the last one is Syque.

"Oh almost forgot about me," he yells jumping onto a large bolder. "I'm Tyler! Master of Science!"

"More like master of hyperactivity," Apricot mutters quietly.

There's a long pause while everyone looks around awkwardly, before a girl steps into the clearing.

"Well it looks like you haven't proceeded to murder my brother quite yet," Maria says with a smile. "That actually surprises me."

"Hey sis," Tyler yells running over to give her a hug. "It's been so long sense the last time we met."

"Tyler, I came to check in on you twenty minutes ago," she replies dully.

"Oh right..." he says staring at her blankly.

Sighing, Maria steps forward and says, "Sorry about my brother, he's a scientific genius, however he tends to get carried away sometimes..."

"That's alright," I reply evading the little kid. "I didn't know you had a brother."

"Yes most people don't realize we're related," she adds shaking her head. "He gets it from my Moms side of the family."

"Of course," I reply. "Now, why are we meeting here again?"

"So you can meet some of the other teenagers in town," Maria states walking toward the others. "Most of us are orphans, usually mob related disasters."

"Enderman," Apricot says angrily punching a nearby tree.

"Creepers," Syque and Brandon reply at the same time..

Stripes jumps up and yells,"I have no parents!" Then proceeds to Run around in a circle.

"And you already know me and Tyler's story," Maria finishes. "So we move on to the happier part."

Tyler jumps up and yells, "MOB HUNTING!" Before running off towards the woods. The others follow him leaving me and Maria in the clearing.

"You brought a weapon, right?" she asks pulling duel iron blades from her belt.

"Of course," I reply removing my new sword from my belt. "We live in Minecraft don't we?"

We sprint after the others and head toward a darker part of forest. Maria slashes a spiders neck and drops its corpse on the ground.

"This is a spider," she says removing her sword from the body. "They attack from above, so always strike upward."

Two greenish looking humans approach sluggishly before she decapitates them.

"Zombies, easiest enemy in the books," she states. "Their weakness is their own speed."

Maria turns around to looks at me and opens her mouth to scream. My mind clicks, as I drive the blade into the green explosion device.

"Creeper," I reply gripping my sword. "There weakness, is me."

She tips her head aside in confusion and asks," How did you know that."

"I dunno," I reply noticing a black figure in the distance. Instantly, my feet start to run toward the tall black mob and I slice my sword into it. Just before the impact the creature disappears.

"Hey Maria, this one just disappeared," I call out as two claws grip my neck. The creature before tries to kill me, but falls to the ground dead.

Maria's sword is covered in a purplish blood and her body is rigid with fear.

"That was an Enderman Steve," she whispers. "You should never attack them, not ever."

"You killed it though," I argue. "So it can't be that hard to kill."

"That's not the reason you shouldn't kill them Steve," she mutters still shaking.

The ferns rustle as Apricot runs into the clearing.

"Maria, you know the town just past the river," she says quickly. "Well, the creepers are attacking."

"Not again," Maria yells snapping out of her shaking. "Come on, we have to help them before the entire town is lost."

"It's just a few creepers," I reply with a shrug. "Can't they handle this on their own?"

"I don't think you understand Steve," Maria says blankly. "It's not just one or two creepers, we're talking about thousands.

* * *

-Have they figured out the lie-

~No, but the girl grows closer every day~

-She will soon know-

~wouldn't it be easier to kill them off now~

-No, they must distract the fallen god-

~Or else we will fail as well, just like our ancestors~

-What will happen to Fate-

~She will try to save him~

-That is why she was first to die-

~Very well, rest in the shadows~

-Yes, rest in the shadows-


	6. Chapter 6

Alot of people are wondering who the mysterious people from chapter five are. You're going to have to wait a little longer :D Also sorry if I got any OC character traits messed up. (I had to write it really late) So this is another kind of sad chapter, but it redefines the entire story really. Also 500 views and 20 Reviews :D Thats so many people! Thanks for reading my story you guys!

* * *

I was planning on returning to the Aether today. However I noticed afew ghasts**,** and was determined to ride them.

Lunging off of the cliff I grab hold of the large white creature. It shrieks out of anger, and tries to throw me off. Laughing I hold on tight and go for the ride.

"That's right you fire squid," I scream to the world. "I am Laura the demi god, and you must obey me!"

"Can I try?" A voice asks from the cliff side. Looking down I notice a girl with slightly curly, long golden hair and black eyes. She looks about 17 and is wearing a black shirt and jeans.

"Sure," I reply pointing toward another ghast. "Just jump on."

Something about the girl seems off for a second,but she jumps off the ledge with ease. Flying out over the lava she grabs ahold of the ghast.

Laughing, she stands up and pretends she's flying.

"I haven't done this in ages," she yells closing her eyes. "I forgot how fun this is!"

"I know, flying ghasts is pretty awesome," I reply. "I'm Laura by the way, I'm a demi god from the Aether."

"Wow, you're a real demi god," the older girl questions. "I didn't know there were so many."

"Wait you're not a demi god?" I blurt out in shock.

Her ghast begins to float toward the cliff before she jumps off.

"Hey, where are you going?" I ask jumping off my own ghast.

Running towards her I grab for her hand, and watch as my hand goes straight through it. Shrieking, I try a few more times with the same results.

"What," I mumble out of fear. "Why... Why is you're hand not there."

"Laura," the girl says sadly. "I'm not a demi god like you and the others."

"Yes," I reply. "But that doesn't mean you don't have a hand!"

"I'm dead Laura," the girl states shaking her head. "I don't exist anymore."

"You have to exist," I argue. "How would you be here otherwise."

"Because I have a message," she replies. "For Herobrine."

"Do you want me to get him," I ask immediately.

"No, there's not enough time," the older girl murmurs. "Tell him, to fear the shadows, because they have betrayed us for another."

She begins to fade away into fog and keeps talking, desperate to finish.

"Tell him that he's wrong," she pleads her voice in panic. "It wasn't who he thought it was, and most of all tell him that..."

The girl disappears and a little voice whispers, "That I'm still here."

Turning around, I look for any trace of the girl. Realizing that she's gone, I run toward the Nether fortress to repeat the message. Up in the main window a shadowy figure leans against the glass.

* * *

My chest hurts just knowing she was here. So many of my questions are still unanswered.

Why did she have to go to the Overworld that day?

Why did I even let her go in the first place?

Why didn't I go with her?

Who had left her for dead after stabbing her with a sword?

Why did her last words have to be: It was them...

Even if I had gone with her, she might be dead. Perhaps I would be dead as wells then, but it's worse knowing I wasn't there. My eyes dim as she disappears and Laura looks for her before running toward the fortress. I know why she died, but I don't know who killed her. Focusing on the memory, restraints begin to block my thoughts.

"So Notch did block some of my memories," I growl, rolling my hands into fists. "It was about time I returned the favor."

I'm about to storm off to the Aether to knock some sense into him when the door opens.

"HEROBRINE," Laura screams running into the room. "I met this spirit girl, and she has a message for you.

"Spit it out," I state trying to hide my interest on the subject.

"She said to fear the shadows," Laura recites slowly. "Because they have betrayed you for another. That you are wrong, and it isn't who you thought it was, and that she's still here."

My head slowly takes in the information and I mutter, "So Fate has returned."

* * *

That's right, Herobrine isn't evil people, he's just sort of insane. Now you might be thinking who is Fate. Well she's the girl with the message for Herobrine, and lets just say she's one of the best not a god characters. Also the evil people haven't shown up yet ;) but you can guess who they are if you want. So yeah chapter six! Chapter seven will be out tommorow or thursday... probably. Leave any questions for me or a character in a review or PM me and I will answer them in the next chapter. :D BIIIIIIIIII


	7. Chapter 7

This is my favorite chapter yet :D Also thanks for all the support guys and sorry that the chapters are so short. I need a few basic OCs for later on and um going to say sorry in advance because a lot characters will die in this story including main ones so yeah. This is the beginning of the end of this society they formed :D battle scenes to come!

* * *

Everyone stumbles through the forest at high speeds. While Maria is used to the midnight darkness, I find myself tripping over ferns. The entire forest seems asleep as we run towards the river. Branches from the trees hang onto the path and distort the surrounding area.

Maria swerves to a stop just in front of me we reach the river. A few pieces of sandstone still float above the water where I assume a bridge was a little while ago.

"Guess we have to swim across," she mutters and steps into the water. "Its not that cold."

Stepping forward I test the temperature for myself and notice a thin layer of ice had formed on some parts.

"Hey Maria," I call out. "I think something might be wrong with your nervous system, because the waters below freezing."

Looking up I notice that not only was she swimming across, but was almost to the other side. Sighing a little I jump into the little stream and try to swim. About half way across my limbs go numb and I start to sink into the water. Oh that's right, I don't know how to swim...

A hand reaches down to pull me out of the current, and I grab on evading death by drowning.

"You don't know how to swim, do you?"Maria asks pulling me towards the opposite shore.

"I know how to swim," I argue. "I just am a little new to the subject..."

Theres a large boom up ahead and the ground begins to shake. The impact sends us both flying in random directions.

More explosions follow as I work my way to shore. Maria pulls out her twin iron blades and runs toward the scene.

I watch in slow motion as Tyler jumps in front of her and pushes her to the side. Sprinting forward I realize his reasoning, a massive crater.

"That was caused by creepers?" I ask peering over the side. "It's so... big."

"Yeah," she replies looking away from the hole. "Another village dead."

"You mean this has happened before?" I blurt out in horror.

"Yeah, pretty commonly nowadays," Tyler comments with a shrug. "They do the same amount of damage as a nuke."

"There slowly destroying every city in Minecraft," Maria adds. "Aren't many humans left anymore."

"We're humans though," I argue. "When have we ever not been able to defeat a mob?"

"When it explodes in thousands," Tyler explains normally.

"Where are the others?" Maria asks turning toward Tyler.

"There still coming," he replies pulling out a pair of green sunglasses.

"You know it's night, right?" I ask as he puts on the sunglasses.

"Of course I know that," Tyler replies. "What do you think I am, a fool?"

Shaking her head Maria says, "Check the rim for survivors and supplies."

Me and Tyler walk along the rim rummaging through debris. It looks like most of the town was obliterated instantly.

Kicking a few rocks into the crater, I notice half a house which appears to have slid down the hillside.

"Hey guys," I call out. "I think I found something!"

The other two run over empty handed and look down at the house.

"It's two dangerous," Maria states after a few moments.

Tyler on the other hand jumps off the cliff and slides onto the roof. Jumping onto the deck he opens the door and walks in.

Maria groans before following suit and I jump behind her. Entering the house shows the story of the battle.

Multiple creepers lay dead on the floor, and there are multiple explosion marks on the walls.

"Looks like they put up a good fight," I mutter staring at the mess.

"Yes, I bet they did," Maria murmurs sorting through a supplies chest. "There's nothing here, we can go now."

Tyler jumps back onto the ground and we follow a little while behind him. How did the mobs cause this much damage in such little time.

"So this really is happening all the time?" I ask taking a final glance at the crater.

"Humans are on the verge of extinction," she replies shaking her head. "The golden days of Minecraft are long sense over."

Suddenly, Tyler starts laughing hysterically and points in the distance. About 300 blocks away, ten men are riding pigs toward us.

"Are you responsible for the destruction of this town?" One of the men asks grabbing ahold of my arm.

"No, there was a creeper raid," Maria answers as I pull my arm away. "We heard the fighting and came to help."

One of the men smirks and grabs ahold of her hand. "What's a pretty little flower like you doing out here all alone?" He asks maliciously.

Maria pretends to giggle before tripping the pig and holding two daggers to the mans throat.

"Now," she whispers angrily. "If you ever touch me again, I will end you."

Releasing the daggers, the man struggles to his feat and remounts his pig. Only his pride is injured.

"You're going to have to come with us," the first man commands.

"Go where?" Tyler questions growing very hyper. "Is it somewhere exciting?"

"You need to be brought to trial for attacking that guard," he replies evilly. "And for being involved with the destruction of this town."

"The guard attacked me first," Maria argues. "And you don't have the right to capture us for no reason."

"If you won't come peacefully," the guard growls."Then you'll come by force."

"I wouldn't recommend fighting," she replies. "For your sake, not mine."

"Ha, what makes you so sure you'll win you fool?" The guard laughs pulling out his sword.

Maria smiles deviously and holds out two golden necklaces engraved with something. A few of the guards gasp while the others start to step backward.

"Sorry for disturbing you folks," the guard sputters. "We'll be on our way."

The men quickly run off leaving us alone in the clearing.

"What scared them off?"I ask watching them retreat.

"This," Maria replies, holding up two tiny gold necklace. "It's called a heroes mark, and its given to a hero once he or she completes their quest."

"Mom and Dad were both heroes," Tyler adds. "So we have two of them."

"Why were those men scared of you then?" I question as they disappear into the distance.

"They knew I wasn't a hero, and I had two necklaces," Maria replies with a smile. "This will make sense later, trust me."

* * *

(Deep beneath the Nether and End lies a deep blackness known as space)

A shadow rises from the darkness and begins to walk in a random direction. Up ahead the outline of a girl with long golden hair appears out of the fog.

"Have you accepted our offer?" The shadow question with an evil smile.

The girl turns and begins to walk away.

"It isn't that hard to do you know,"the shadow growls. "To kill this demi god your so fond of. In fact if you don't agree to help us, then i bet it can be arranged."

The girl stops walking away and slowly turns back toward the shadow.

"All you have to do is hack the Aethers defense system and he lives," the shadow states simply. "If you don't agree, we'll destroy the Nether instead."

"Why do I have to," the girl murmurs sadly. "Why does it have to be me."

"Because of your power," the shadow cackles. "Your the only one who can access the code other than Notch himself."

"There has to be others with my power," she argues.

"No Fate, you are the only one," the shadow replies. "It is your choice which dimension we destroy."

"If you weaken the defenses, then we attack the Aether," the shadow muses. "But if you don't, then we destroy the Nether and kill your friends."

Fate whips around and screams, "I don't choose either then."

"I was afraid you would choose that," the shadow sighs. "I guess we have to kill him then."

"No wait," Fate yells out after him. "I'll hack in and weaken the Aether."

"See," the shadow replies." Was that so hard?"

"With one exception," she calls out.

"What sort of exception?" The shadow questions.

"I want to return to Minecraft," Fate states. "And I want you to leave him alone."

"You can already return to Minecraft," the shadow answers.

"As a human," she clarifies. "Not some spirit."

"Of course," the shadow answers. "It can all be arranged."

"Then I will help you," Fate answers looking down. "For those reason, and those reasons alone."


	8. Chapter 8

Now, to clear up all the stuff so far before the story gets more complicated. That is why I wrote this chapter :D! Also I made a favorite character poll on my profile so you can vote and stuff. So sorry if there are any mistakes in my writing and that it's so short...

* * *

The wind whistles through the forest as we head back to town. My head continues to show the gaping crater as I walk. Why were there so many creepers? How did they cause that much damage?

"Guys," a girl yells out after emerging from behind us. "Thank Notch, we couldn't find you."

Stripes, Apricot, Brandon, and Syque round the corner and mutter greetings.

"Did you guys see the guards earlier?" Brandon asks looking around for footprints. "They sure left in a hurry."

"No," Maria lies shooting me a glance. "I didn't know there were guards here."

"Usually there aren't any Guards around here," Syque states curiously. "Maybe they heard the explosion and came running?"

"Why ever they came," Stripes giggles evilly. "They sure left in a hurry."

"I bet Tyler tried to explain one of his scientific equations," Apricot agrees with a smirk. "Can't say I blame them."

"They could have seen Herobrine," Brandon mutters casting an un-easy glance at the woods.

"I guess he could be here," Apricot replies with a shiver. "He must have commanded the creepers to come here."

"Creepy," Syque mutters. "I'm gonna head back to town."

"I'll come with you," Brandon replies. "I have a few basic blacksmith jobs to complete, and no one should be walking alone at this hour."

"You're a blacksmith?" Apricot questions, "I'm a blacksmith two!"

"Really?" Brandon asks curiously. "I thought I was the only blacksmith in town."

"I don't live in town, Apricot replies. "My home is one of the old caves on the mountain."

"Cool," Brandon says looking at the others. "Are you three going back ?" I can't help but notice Maria staring off into the distance.

"Steve will be," she answers. "I want to show my brother something before we head back. You guys go on ahead."

"You sure about this," I ask. "No one should be alone if Herobrines around."

"Don't worry Steve," she replies with a smile. "I'll have Tyler with me."

* * *

The others head back through the woods and disappear into the hills.

"Ok," Tyler asks, looking very serious. "Whats the problem."

"I need to check on something," I murmur tossing him one of the golden emblems. "Might need you're help."

"Is that why you ditched the others?" He asks tightening his grip on the pendant. "Our fake identities are just about screwed Maria."

"The others haven't figured it out yet," I reply grasping my own pendant. "They will eventually."

"Now what is this problem?" He questions walking through the woods. "Seems peaceful to me."

"How many towns are there now," I question quietly.

"Four, there are four left," he answers slowly. "This one was much better protected then ours as well."

"Approximate surviving population," I question after a long pause.

"A little under 8'000," Tyler replies with a shrug. "Now, why did you actually bring us out here."

"I'm not sure," I mutter in reply. "Something is going on, I don't know what though ."

Storm clouds creep into the sky, and lightning crashes down onto the hills as rain begins to fall.

"Whatever, come back to town when you figured out whats wrong," he groans walking away. "I on the other hand, don't feel like getting drenched."

* * *

Herobrine begins to run through the trees as the rain begins to fall. "I guess I couldn't just stay in the Nether huh, had to come enjoy the wonderful weather," he growls sarcastically.

Suddenly, the ground gives way beneath him and he starts falling downwards into a deep crater. Lifting his arms, he stops falling just before hitting the ground. He looks around and notices the magnitude of the crater. "The humans have to keep testing their cruddy nukes don't they," Herobrine growls floating back to the surface. An array of dead creeper parts layer the ground around the clearing.

"Did the creepers cause this?" he questions casting another glance at the hole. "Why would so many be in the same location?"

"I was hoping you could answer that actually," a voice replies. "You're in control of the mobs are you not."

Spinning towards the sound he thrusts his sword toward the voice. Instead of hitting, a girl with brown hair blocks the attack and kicks his weapon aside.

"Why are you attacking these villages," she asks motioning to the crater.

"There are more like this?" Herobrine asks slightly in shock.

"Everyday," she growls darkly. "There are only four villages left."

"That isn't possible," he argues. "Notch is suppose to be."

"Notch doesn't care what happens to us anymore ," she growls. "We survive on our own now."

"You can't be mortal, you blocked my sword just now," Herobrine grumbles.

"I know where my loyalties lie, and that is with the humans," the girl replies. "At least some of the demi gods are trying to help."

"I didn't know what was going on," he answers with a frown.

"Of course not, you're as stupid as the rest of the gods," she laughs walking away.

"I am Herobrine, brother of Notch himself," he yells angrily. "You have no right to speak to me that way!"

"Of course not," the girl replies continuing to walk away. "But if I ever catch you near my town again, I will end you."

* * *

Ok so I'm guessing there will be questions about this chapter... There arewe few more big reveals later on. So yup please vote on the poll or leave questions and stuff... Also I will be writing a tenth chapter celebration of awesomeness so that might take me a little bit.


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back :D sorry it took me so long. Busy busy Friday of evilness. Do yes this is chapter nine it adds yet another plot line to the story. I have to admit Stevewon't be showing up for a few chapters, because I'm focusing on other main characters for a little while. Also, this is from Fates perspective if your confused.

Apricot: *cough, cough, you procrastinated cough, cough*

* * *

I hit the water with a sharp thud. After sinking about twenty blocks, my hands start to move and I begin to float toward the surface. The sun is a gaping sphere in the sky, its reflection glowing white on the surface of the water. Breaking the surface, I notice the vast amount of water I fell into. Of course, I had to fall right into the middle of an ocean.

A large wave slaps me in the head, sending me sprawling back under. My head breaks the surface as I choke out sea water. I try to manipulate the code into giving me a boat, however I'm to weak from tearing down the Aethers defense system. I try to lay on my back for flotation, however another current sucks me downward.

As i struggle back to the surface, more waves crash overhead and something wraps around my foot. Kicking with all of my remaining strength, my head breaks the surface as more evil blue creatures emerge. I slap the one wrapped around my foot and try to flee in a random direction. More creepy blue things follow me and appear from all directions.

Usually I could out swim these things, however my wet clothe slow me down. One creature grabs my foot while the other grabs my arm. Soon I find myself sinking toward the depths of the ocean led by evil blue creatures. Lack of air and the drop in temperature is causing me to slowly lose consciousness.

* * *

"Your awake," a young girl yells as I awake. "We thought you might be dead!"

"I told you Sasha, she's just fine," a voice replies from another room. "You should leave her alone, she needs to rest."

"Ok fine," the little girl huffs in annoyance. "You're always such a worry wart Kaito!"

"How long was i out for," I mutter trying to sit up. My back refuses to bend and I end up in more of a half sit up position. Judging from the amount of pain in my head and body I'm injured pretty badly. The little girl looks around six or seven with straight black hair tied back in matching pig-tails. She's also wearing a grey sweatshirt with black jeans and a strange gold and purple amulet.

"A few hours," the little girl replies happily counting on her fingers. "My brother saved you after the squids attacked."

"What are squids?" I question, trying in vain to sit up again.

"Evil little creatures that roam the waters of Minecraftia," she growls gazing out the window. "It's our duty to destroy them as members of the Sky Army!"

I groan out of confusion and pain and ask, "Ok, but what's the Sky Army then."

"You don't know what the Sky Army is?" The girl nearly screams as her jaw drops open. "Is that even possible?"

"Of course it's possible sis," a boy with black hair and a replica of the girls outfit replies, entering the room with an erie silence. "Obviously you're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I'm from up North," I reply trying to make it sound convincing. They seem friendly enough, but you never know who your enemies are. "What's this Sky Army about anyways?"

"It's a group founded a long time ago by the hero SkyDoesMinecraft," he answers. "Basically you hate squids and love budder."

"Wait, did you say hero?" I question my head racing back to my time in space.

"Yes, he was a great hero and he died a valiant death," the boy states sadly. "Fighting the squids to his very dying breath."

"First, way two over dramatic," I reply with a groan. "Second, do you have anything capable of getting inot the sky?"

The little girl starts to laugh and the boy raises an eyebrow. After a few moments he says, "wait, you're serious? How do you think we got the name Sky Army?"

"Look, I think you're hero might be in danger," I explain trying not to point out that it's my fault. "I need you to gather any other Sky Army recruits and head to the Aether immediately."

"What do you mean he's in danger? the boy questions,"He's dead already."

"Just trust me on this, you need to reach the Aether as soon as possible," I state trying to explain."

The two start to ask questions, but a large crashing noise fills the house. Multiple explosions sound farther off and people scream in the distance. I watch as the boy grabs ahold of th girl, who I'm guessing is his younger sister, motions for me to follow, and runs out of the room. Other people run down the cobblestone hall way in panic, and multiple explosion holes expose us to the outside.

We stumble out of the large house and onto a hill side. A few blocks out, the cliff side drops about fifty blocks before reaching the ocean. The sky is black with no stars, and thunder clouds crash over head. Dark figures swarm the sky, circling towards a large dark shape. Everything pulls together and I sway a little on my feet, they're destroying the Aether. With it's defenses weakened, there's nothing keeping the shadows out, or keeping it in the sky.

The boy from earlier opens up I trap door and places his sister inside. I follow the lead and jump into the hole. After a few moments of free falling I hit the water and climb out of the hole. Shaking off a few droplets of water, I pull off my sweatshirt and roll up my jeans. My shirts made of water resistant materials, so it isn't wet. Another person hits the water and climbs out of the puddle. Another boy, wearing a matching outfit with blonde hair.

"Kaito, we got everyone still alive out," he states approaching the others. "We need to take off."

"What are those things?" Kaito asks looking back towards the surface,"They seemed to miss us completely."

"They're creatures known as Shadows," I reply not meeting their glances. "They were from the time before Minecraft."

"Ok, but what are they after, and why haven't we seen them before?" Kaito questions while everyone stares at me, desperate for information.

"The Shadows were the original mob in Minecraft, however Notch realized that they were far to overpowered, so the gods tried to kill them off," I answer. "But they were outsmarted. The Shadows left to form their own dimension, but kept their hatred of the Gods. That's where humans come in as well, we were supposed to protect the gods when they finally attacked."

"But time passed and the Gods decided that there wouldn't be an attack, right," Kaito growls sadly. "They decided we were useless,and thus should die."

"I suppose you could put it that way," I mumble.

"That thing in the sky is the Aether isn't it," he adds after a long pause and I nod in reply. "Guess we have to help them then."

He meats my gaze with determination and the roar of engines fills the cave. I still can't believe they have planes. Everyone runs toward the cargo area as about twenty planes prepare to take off.

Kaito jumps into one and yells, "You coming with?"

I smile weakly and reply, "I'm going to find a few more allies first, do you have a Nether portal I can borrow?"

"No Nether portals," he says pulling pilot goggles on. "Also, i never got your name."

With a smile I reply, "Fate," and with that, the planes take off into the foreshadowing sky of darkness.

"Well I guess I better get to the Nether," I say watching the planes for a few more seconds. Have to go meet some old friends...

* * *

Yeah, Sky Army :D I'm sorry if you don't like them or some of the other major youtubers. This story is set way after all of the famous "Heroes of Minicraft" came is basically every fanfictionsl,YouTube, and Other Hero you can think of is already completed their quest. Thus this is, The Real Final Battle. So yes, no more info as of now. Also I made a Favorite Character Quiz which is posted on my profile so yes... Plz take da quiz or review or Pm me any questions you have *puppy face from humane society animal cruelty commercial* ); why it has to be so sad!?


	10. Chapter 10

**SORRY! I was insanely busy and ugh yeah didn't post. Anyways I'm back ontrack now, and because it's the 10th chapter I added a awesome twist. It's in the past :D Also I need a few more OCs and I am almost done with part 1. There will be a lot of parts but they will all be on this story. I also came up with the plot line and IT IS AWESOME. It kind of destroies the storys world but it is AWESOME. So yeah I will try to post daily but am extremely busy. Also a shout out to all of the people reading my story YOU ARE AWESOME. I never thought so many people would read my story :D**

* * *

(4 years ago)

A lone figure walks toward the back door of the cliff side Sky Army training center. He slips from shadow to shadow, evading even the cleverest of guards.

Opening the door he enters the small obsidian room and approaches another man wearing a black cloak as well.

"Welcome old friend," the other man says turning towards the new figure. "It's been a long time."

"We need you're help," the first man states pulling back his hood, revealing two white eyes. "I believe that we may be in danger."

"Of course Herobrine, always so quick to skip the small talk," the second man answers with a hint of humor. "As leader of the Sky Army I can assure you that we will be quick to help."

"I don't think you understand Sky," Herobrine replies setting down a file on the desk. "We need your help, not this Army you built up around you."

"What do you mean by that," Sky questions all traces of humor gone from his voice. "How could I help if my army cannot."

A third figure materializes out of thin air and stands beside Herobrine.

"We need you to go into hiding," Notch replies.

"What?" I question in shock, "How would that help?!"

"Every hero has been asked to do this," Herobrine explains. "We need them to gather info on our enemies, and to watch over the newest demi gods."

"The newest demi gods?" I question in confusion. "I thought Herobrine was the only one?"

"He was, until a few years ago," Notch adds. "Now there are four."

"Wait, you don't mean Zoey and Rythian's three kids," I question quickly.

"I'm afraid so," Notch groans. "Scientists and Mages are powerful enough, I don't even want to know how their demi god abilitys will assist them."

"Demi god mushroom enthusiasts," i reply with a smirk. "Now that's a story!"

Herobrine groans at my comment before suddenly fainting. Notch mutters some sort of spell and Herobrines body disappears from the room.

"What did you just do?"I question in horror. "He just fainted and then..."

"Don't worry, I merely removed a few memories and returned him to the Nether," Notch replies sounding almost cheery. "He won't remember any of this."

"Why did you have to mess with his memories though?" I ask slightly annoyed.

"There are other reasons you have to go into hiding," Notch says after a long pause. "The ancient hero is returning."

"You mean Steve?" I question. "That doesn't explain what you just did."

"I removed all memories of Steve from my brothers head so that he won't remember him when he returns. He will know something is up, but won't completely understand what," Notch states with a sigh.

"Ok, but why do all of the Heroes have to go into hiding?" I reply. "There has to be something you're not telling me."

"With the return of the first hero," He replies slowly. "It is prophicised that another entity will return."

"What do you mean, another entity?" I question carefully.

"Before the humans walked all of Minecraft, there was another... creature who we were testing," Notch explains. "These creatures became quite powerful, and eventually we tried to kill them off. However we were unsuccessful and a few of them escaped. When Steve returns, I have reason to believe the Shadows will as well."

"Are these Shadows really that dangerous," I ask sarcastically. "We've got all of Minecraft to deal with them."

"The Shadows are basically a mirror image of a human, however completely made of darkness. Not only that, but I'm afraid that for every creature on Minecraft, there is a mirror shadow of it."

"Wait," I announce. "Then doesn't that mean that we are completely equal in power if we're the same people?"

"Exactly, however we still have the upper hand because they are unable to mirror gods," he explains. "Other then that, we're dead even."

"Wait, then there is a me somewhere that loves squids," I mutter out of realization. "Does it work on demi gods?"

Notch nods sadly and says," I'm afraid I have to go and tell the others now. I would recommend faking your own death as quick as possible." He disappears as I leave the room. Now I just have to go fake my own death, perhaps I'll attend my own funeral. I just laugh at the thought and walk towards the sea.

* * *

A little girl with deep brown hair watches me work by peeking her head around the corner. Her younger brother is no where in sight, so I presume he is some where with his mother. After a few minutes I give up trying to work and walk over.

"Maria, shouldn't you be with your Mom?" I ask as she appears around the corner again.

"Yes, but she and Tyler are tinkering with Science stuff, she complains. "I don't understand any of it. There are so many hooks, and wires, and other stuff... is there something wrong with me because I can't I understand it?"

I just laugh and reply, "Of course not dear, I'm not particularly good at or fond of Science either."

"Then how come I'm not good at it like Tyler," she complains sadly. "How come I can't make Mommy proud of me?"

"I tell you what," I reply picking up the depression in her tone. "How about i teach you about Magic instead?"

"Really?" Maria says in excitement. "I finally get to learn Magic!"

"You already know the basics of course, you read every one of the scrolls in my private library before you were seven," I explain.

"How did you know that?" She gasps obviously thinking that it was a secret,

"Simple, you took them in numerical order," I reply with an awkward smile and spawns in a chicken." Now let's try a basic one, turn this chicken into a different mob."

Turning around, notices that the chicken is already changing between different mobs before stopping on a pig. Maria gasps while happily cheering at her success, she asks, "Can I try something harder, please, please, please?"

Sighing a little, I grab ahold of one of the lightning scrolls and toss it to her. Even she can't learn this In a single day. There's a knock on the door before Zoey enters with a sad face. Notch appears behind her and I can almost sense bad news to come.

A large crack sounds behind me, as Maria accidentally summons the lightning. I direct her towards the training room and return to the others.

Notch just frowns and says, "I need you both to go into hiding."


	11. Chapter 11

Im back :D sorry this took me a while to write because I got writers block... Anyways I'm going to put all the other OCs in soon and... some people are probably going to die... Sorry XD Not in this chapter but were getting towards the first battle scene. Also please vote on the poll or write a review. Anyways sorry about the delay the next chapter should be outweather Thursday or Friday depending on how busy I am, Sorry..

* * *

I run towards Maria's library as the thunder crashes overhead. The weather had been like this for several hours, and most people are inside. Not to mention that I can't go mining either, due to potential flooding.

Inside the library, Mark is reading another book while crouching in the corner. A group of books lies around his feet in different piles. He doesn't look up until I'm about a foot away from him.

"Hey Mark, is Maria back yet?" I ask as a loud bang of thunder fills the sky.

"Yeah, she's at her house right now working on some stuff," he replies while watching the lightning outside. "It's pretty rough out there, you should stay here until this storm blows over."

"It's been like this for almost two days," I add with a sigh. "You must really like the Library to be here this entire time."

"I can get away from the world," he replies.

With a nod I ask, "Where is her house exactly?"

"On the very edge of town to the north," he replies with a slight groan. "Trust me, you won't miss it."

Waving a goodbye, I slip out into the gravel streets and walk north through town. A few kids stand in their houses windows, wanting to run around. While a few hunters and mob slayers slink towards the tavern for shelter. Brandon is working on his crafting table to form a diamond sword for one of the soldiers.

I reach the northern border of town after a few minutes. Glancing around, I spot a large wall made out of stone and some sort of piston contraption. The piston door opens automatically, so I walk right into the clearing.

A few gardens and farms stand around the proximity of the house, and multiple fountains and waterfalls drip down from fake mountains. Various passive mobs roam the grounds, munching on fresh grass. In the back of the clearing, is a massive three story manor made of stone brick.

Slowly i cross a small lake using an old wooden bridge. The manors courtyard looks like some sort of practice field, with different targets set up around the yard. A sign hung above the door reads: Northern Gate Manor- Home of the Maria and Tyler NO STRANGERS ALLOWED-

The door creaks a little before a gust of wind blows it open. Inside there's a banquet hall with a chandelier and long stair wells. However the lights aren't lit and dirt covers the floor. It looks like this place has been abandoned for a long time.

"Tyler? You're back kind of early," Maria mutters behind me.

I turn towards the voice and notice Maria sitting on the stairs. She has dark circles under her eyes due to lack of sleep, and only looks half awake.

"No, it's Steve," I reply lighting a torch. "This is your house?"

"Yeah, or what's left of it," she adds standing up carefully. "It was really nice originally."

"I bet it was," I reply gazing around the old manor, on the table I spot a few old scrolls. "Why do you have Mage scrolls?"

"Oh, we'll I'm training myself to become a Mage," she says slowly. "Not much progress of course."

"Could you teach me?" I ask picking up one of the scrolls. "I need to learn how to fight better."

"You should start with basic swordsmanship then," she replies with a groan. "Go talk to someone else for that."

"Are you ok, you don't look to well?" I question as more thunder crashes over head.

"Yeah I'm just fine," Maria adds with a yawn. "Just fine."

"You should get some sleep," I state walking towards the door. "Everyone is exhausted after yesterday."

I close the door and walk back into the courtyard. Screeches start to fill the sky and lighting surges around something in the sky. The huge gray clouds that fill the sky are covered in dark creatures. More thunder rains down as I spot Tyler running towards me.

"Not now," he yells as Maria steps outside. "Maria it's happening!"

"What's going on?" I yell over the storm.

Tyler and Maria stare at the sky watching the large black object. It sinks below the clouds, revealing giant floating islands, and shadowy objects circle them at high speeds.

"Steve, you need to follow me," Maria murmurs before running back inside.

Tyler follows her as we head inside, they run up the stairs and continue down the hallway. At the back of the hallway is an old wooden stairway. Without stopping I follow them up winding stairway into some sort of tower.

"Here, you're going to need these," She yells out tossing me chain mill armor. "It's better then nothing."

I throw it on as Tyler grabs a large amount of weaponry from the counter. Maria grabs two black swords and a package. She throws me the package and I open it.

"It's basic diamond," Maria states tying her swords onto her back. "But it works."

The door flys open as five others storm into the room. Apricot is shooting her bow at something down the steps, while Brandon and Syque hold onto swords. Stripes and Mark approach in horror as another lightning bolt strikes the hill outside.

"What's going on?" Stripes screams, "Those things in the sky, this storm, even the voice in my head is going insane!"

"Everyone grab something to fight with," Tyler yells tossing out various weapons. "We're going somewhere, and it's likely we have to fight our way through!"

Maria nods as a portal suddenly appears from the old un-lit stone.

"Okay, everyone follow me," Maria growls stepping into the portal.

The others follow until only Tyler and me are left. Stepping forward, I walk into the glassy surface.

* * *

The blaze began to clear a cobweb from one of the hallway of the Nether fortress. He had no idea how the spiders had been here, after all this was within the Nether. It had been a long time sense he had last walked down this hallway. Back when Master Herobrine was still young and happy. Well, as happy as Herobrine could be...

He was only six when Notch had sent him here, and the next few years had been peaceful enough. However the poor kid had to grow up in a legitimate hell, and rarely befriended any of the mobs. Of course Notch had to mess with his life even more, so for his twelfth birthday he tried to place humans in the Nether. Most of them died off rather quickly of course as trying to live in the Nether was not natural, and Herobrine didn't exactly want company...

However out of all of the humans, one managed to survive the first month; a little girl named Fate. He had never met someone his own age before, after all even Notch was three years older then him. After a while they became friends, exploring the various regions of the Nether. Fate was almost the complete opposite of Herobrine though, and was always looking for an adventure of some sort.

It was on Fates 16th birthday that Notch realized his mistake. The girl had developed a strange power allowing her access to the code; something only he had been able to do. Ignoring the potential problems, he returned to his own dimension, but two weeks later she mysteriously died while visiting the Over World.

The blaze begins to frown at the horrible memories that followed her death. Herobrine had grown angry and vowed to kill what ever did this, and 1000 years ago he had found a likely target; a mortal hero named Steve.


	12. Chapter 12

Im sorry this is so short :( and its late again. Busy busy day... Anyways I think I have decided to kill off one of the characters during this battle later on. Also PLS leave questions for the characters in a review or PM me because I really want to write the answers! (It looks like so much fun XD) Sorry again

* * *

The portal evaporates as i step out. We stand on a mass of islands floating in the sky. Shadowy figures mask the sky, diving down toward various people. Where the Nether are we?

"Stay close to me, don't do anything stupid, and try not to get yourself killed," Maria commands gripping her swords.

"Where the heck are we Maria," Brandon yells out. "And why are you and Tyler the only ones who know what's going on!?"

"It's floating," Apricot screams in horror. "The islands are floating."

"They're sinking," Seque growls. "I doubt they'll be in the air much longer."

"Look guys," Tyer yells. "This is the Aether, and its being attacked."

"How would you know that?" Brandon questions. "And what could possibly attack the Aether?"

"Everyone be quiet for a minute," Maria adds. "I can answer your questions, but you might not like the answers."

"Start off with what's attacking, and why you have a portal to the Aether in your house!?" Stripes blurts out.

"Those creatures are called Shadows. They're very deadly and could kill you quite quickly," she answers. "Now as for the portal...it's a long story."

"We've got about thirty minutes before this thing falls out of the sky," Syque adds. "Plenty of time."

"Well first of all, my brother and I haven't been totally honest with you about what's going on," Maria replies slowly.

"No, really?" Apricot screams sarcastically. "We're on a fucking island in the sky!"

"Yes, we have an Aether portal in our house,"Maria yells angrily. "Our mission was to make sure no one ever found out about Steve!"

"Found out about me?" I question in surprise, "What do you mean by that?"

"So Steve was in on this the whole time huh," Syque growls. "Doesn't surprise me."

"What do you mean?" I yell in reply. "I don't understand what's going on anymore than you do!"

"Guys, shut up," Tyler growls. "Steve doesn't know."

"Why should we trust what you say?" Apricot yells, "why should we listen?"

"Because I know what's going on here," Maria murmurs quietly. "We're the only chance we've got to help the Aether."

"The Aether, a secret mission," Seque growls. "Stop lying you guys, I've had enough of it!"

One of the creatures catapults into our island, splitting the group in two. Tyler and Maria make eye contact before running towards it. While he distracts the creature Maria attempts to stab it. Another one knocks her off her feet, and sliding toward the side of the island.

Narrowly missing the edge she lunges back into the battle to join her brother. Grabbing my own sword, I sprint towards the creatures. I'm not sure what they are, but I'm not about to let them kill my friends.

I swing my sword toward one of the creatures, only for it to block with its own black sword. Another one runs toward me only to meet the tip of Tyler's blade. He beheads about three others before rushing to help his sister.

Maria is dueling about three of the shadowy creatures blow for blow, but is dangerously close to the edge. I push one off the island while stabbing a second. She finishes off the third with a swift blow to the head and nods in thanks.

Around the clearing almost everyone has joined in in the battle. Brandon and Apricot battle back to back against a hoard. While Syque and Stripes try to keep Mark away from the creatures.

I finish off another group before following Maria toward the center of the island. My sword slides through the shadowy creatures with ease. Something about fighting has put me on edge, and it actually feels really natural.

Maria yells," Everybody head to the center."

Everyone slowly forms a sloppy circle in the middle, facing out towards the enemy.

"You need to trust me," Maria yells while stabbing yet another creature. "We need to find any survivors and get to the west most part of the dimension. It's likely some of us are going to die, but we're dead without help anyways!"

"How do you know we can get through this?" Brandon questions as lightning rains down through the sky.

"That is the second thing i wanted to tell you," she replies. "My brother and I are demi gods."

"You may as well tell them the last part," Tyler states.

"We took on a mission from Notch himself to guard Steve," she mentions casually. "He's sort of the recarnation of the first hero."

"I'm the what?" I shout after her.

"I'll explain it later," she yells out. " Anyone have a plan for getting rid of these things?"

Tyler shrugs and yells back," once we get everyone off we should probably nuke it to get rid of the Shadows."

"Ok, so Tyler take Apricot and Stripes to the center of the dimension and set up a nuke," Maria commands. "Everyone else search for survivors."

"So we're nuking the Aether," Brandon mutters. "Never thought I would do that."

Suddenly Stripes drops to the ground and stares off in horror. She just murmurs,"not now, why would it be now."

"Stripes, are you ok?" Maria asks frantically. "What's happening to you?"

"The voice in my head," she replies through gasps. "Herobrine is here, he's in the Aether as well."


	13. Chapter 13

Ok sorry about yet another delay. Ugh daylight saving time has me all messed up right now. Anyways at least one character dies in the next or second to next chapter, but we also have most of the characters in the story currently together at the moment. Dorry to the later OCs because you have to wait a little bit before I can add them in...XD sorry. I am also starting to plan two more stories about Minecraft, one being humorous one shots, the other being a story. So yeah XD I'm really bad at posting daily aren't I?

* * *

Two Shadows slink towards us as we make a run for it. I follow Maria towards one of the bigger islands, and notice broken buildings. A few corpses lay on the ground and something must be on fire.

"Heads up," Maria growls bracing for an attack. "We've got company."

A pack of Shadows crashes around the corner, and I turn to attack. I swing my sword into ones neck and deflect another with my fist. Another runs toward me, but I stab it in the chest and move on. Grabbing an old iron dagger from one of the buildings I return to the battlefield. Maria stumbles out of another building shaking her head.

"Any survivors?" I question surveying the decimated buildings. She just shakes her head sadly and walks to the edge of the island.

"There's no one alive out here," Maria states. "We need to find the ones who are and get them out."

"We don't know if there are any survivors Maria," I reply. " From the looks of it its highly unlikely. We should head deeper into the dimension, anyone still alive would be taking refuge in that area."

She nods in reply and begins to walk toward the side of the island. The Aether is still in the cloud cover, but its sinking rapidly. Jumping onto another island, we continue towards the center and reach some sort of floating walkway.

"Sky Bridges," Maria clarifies jumping on. "Heroes can't fly, so Notch added these to help them move around. Were pretty close to the center if these are showing up."

Nodding quickly I leap onto the floating bridge. "Maria, what did you mean that I'm the recantation of the ancient hero?" I question slowly as we walk along the bridge.

She goes ridged for a moment before answering, "I'll explain this to you when this is over, but don't mention that to anyone. Those who need to know already understand, and those who don't will probably try to kill you if they find out."

"That's reassuring," I grumble and notice some sort of angel lady in the sky. "Hey Maria, what's that?"

She looks up at the creature and yells out," It's a Valkerie, they're on our side! Which means there could be others as well!"

A Shadow appears beside with Valkerie and with one swift blow, the angel creature turns a demonic black. It turns toward our platform and lunges straight toward us. I pull out my blade to block it, but the impact knocks me over the safety rails.

Maria tries to grab my hand, but I find myself falling down through the cloud barrier. Everything seems peaceful for a while as I free fall towards the ground, and an old memory began to work it's way into my head. Dark obsidian pillars reach towards the sky, and a dragon circles them. I refocus on reality and notice something above me. Some sort of flying device grabs ahold of my shoulder with a sharp jerk, and I'm back on one of the islands. More of the devices land and multiple teens in grey clothing jump out.

"Might not want to fall of the islands you know," a boy with blonde hair says sarcastically. "It's kind of dangerous to do that."

Maria appears from around the corner and instantly is at my side. "Who the heck are you," she growls angrily. "This is restricted territory."

"Were the people who just saved your friends puny little life," the boy answers. "Show a little more respect!"

"Sorry about that Miss," another boy with black hair mentions, shooting the other one a sharp glance.

"Who the Nether are you," she growls angrily.

"I'm Kaito, current leader of the Sky Army," he replies ignoring her hostility. "We were informed that SkyDoesMinecraft could be in danger, so we came to help."

Maria just says, "he died two years ago in a squid attack. How would being here help him exactly?"

"We received a report that he was in the Aether," Kaito replies in embaresement.

"We could use your help anyways," I blurt out. "The Aether is being attacked and were searching for survivors."

He nods and yells out," New plan everyone, we're going to help these people."

* * *

Herobrine destroys a group of Shadows with a flame attack before continuing on down the hallway. He had come to the Aether to accuse Notch of messing with his memories, but had arrived in the middle of a full fledged battle. Just thinking about the Aether was causing major restrictions on his memory, but something else kept haunting him. He had revenge on the man who presumably killed Fate, but he couldn't remember the name. Herobrine didn't even know what he looked like, yet he had killed him 1000 years ago. Why we're these the memories Notch had chosen to block?

The hallway is dim and dark blood is soaking into the carpets and walls where Shadows had died. He continues to search through the Aetherian castle until he reaches his brothers room.

Inside the walls are destroyed and multiple shadowy creatures lay dead. It's clear that Notch had at least made it out of his room and was trying to survive somewhere; that was if he was still alive of course. A picture frame lays face down on the bed, and Herobrine leans over to examine it. It's a picture of himself and Fate as kids riding ghasts in the Nether. Fate is bravely standing straight up on her ghast while Herobrine just carefully sits, watching her. This was the only picture he had ever smiled in that he hadn't destroyed, and this one only survived because it reminded him of her...

Following a trail of Shadow blood down the hall he notices one of the walls has a large whole in it. He jumps through the whole and walks through the dark tunnel with ease, it was easy for him to see with his glowing eyes.

The tunnel ends, and he steps out into a massive courtyard outside. Three or four shadows aim for his throat but he destroys them with ease. His brother must have fled toward the center of the dimension, so he begins to walk toward the floating bridges. Up ahead multiple figures gather around large flying machines in discussion.

* * *

A fifteen year old boy with red hair and green goggles leans over a strange science contraption in the Aether.

"Hand me the atomic pressure stabilizer," Tyler yells out twisting one of the reactors. "I need to overload the database so that I can set this thing up."

"In English," Apricot growls. "If either of us knew what an atomic pressure stabilizer is, we wouldn't be standing here."

Tyler just smiles and replies," very well, hand me some redstone."

Stripes leans over and tosses him the material from her bag. Turning another few switches the bomb starts to glow a bright red. He pushes another few buttons and pulls out some sort of remote.

"Ok so we have approximately 10 minutes to get off the Aether before it goes off," he adds monitoring a scientific device. "That's just enough time to meet the others on the west side of the island."

"Why are we going to the west side exactly?" Stripes questions.

It's over the ocean, so the landing will be much softer," he replies. "Let's head out."

The three of them leave as the bomb starts to tick down towards a fiery inferno. It truly was the fall of the Nether.

* * *

Steve and the others continue on toward the center of the Aether. The Shadows continue to attack, but the Sky Army holds most of them off. A large city appears on the next island over, and everyone closes in towards their final destination.

Suddenly Maria turns around and runs in the opposite direction. She draws her blade and Steve follows her in confusion. Another person who stands beyond the group blocks her sudden attack, and they halt in a stand still. The two of them glare at each other in a total stand still before the person draws his blade. The boy looks nearly identical to Steve, but with obsidian armor, darker brown hair and supernatural white eyes.

Maria pushes Steve behind her and grasps her sword growling out, "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same question," he replies menacingly. "Are you here with the Shadows or are you here to help?"

"Were here to help," Steve adds stepping around Maria. "I'm Steve and this is Maria."

"Herobrine," the man replies. "You both look sort of familiar, have we met before?"

"You look familiar as well," Steve states curiously. "Weird, I don't think we've ever met."

"I guess that we're allies in this fight against the Shadows though," Herobrine sighs. "Usually I stay out of petty battles like this, but this must be an exception."

"This is the weirdest conversation ever," Maria murmurs quietly. "They don't have a single clue who the other is... let's keep it that way."

* * *

:D Yeah :D So I will have a new chapter out Monday or Tuesday and the theme is FAMILY WEEK XD let's meet Herobrines brother, Maria's sister, Kaitos uncle and a bunch of other people I'm not going to tell you about :D I also still need about 3 ocs but PLS not mysterious natured ones XD I have so many of them. SOMEONE DIES NEXT CHAPTER...I think...


	14. Chapter 14

Again sorry about the delay I wasn't home for a while, so I couldn't type up this chapter. Anyways next chapter because it is #15 I plan on having a super secret suprise :3 so yeah. Also OCs will be added in soon, but I have to finish upthe battle chapters before I can add more characters. So sorry about the wait and enjoy chapter 14!

* * *

The hellish landscape appears as I leave the portal. Lava rains down from the sky and ghasts patrol the air for intruders. Even the air seems hot in humid after so many years away from home. I smile a little at the thought; I was home.

A lava lake expands throughout the dimension, and at the edge stands a nether fortress.

Part of me wants to run straight into the castle, but my instincts hold me back. I haven't been here in more then 1000 years, none of the mobs will recognize me. It's awkward knowing I'm the stranger now, but I slip off the cliff edge carefully and land on the ledge below. I follow the ledge walkway half way around the lava lake before sneaking back onto the bridge.

Zombie pigmen wander around the bridges looking for any unwanted guests. I walk right by them knowing that they don't attack unless provoked. A rotten hand heads straight for my face and the others turn their swords to attack me.

Ducking under a blow to my head I evade the attacks with superior ease. These are mobs we're talking about, not ninja assassins.

A few ghasts notice the commotion and begin to attack with fire balls. One flame strikes my left leg, and the impact sends me sliding back a few paces. My leg is still intact, but I'll be walking away with at least a second degree burn.

More swords swipe in my direction and i try to limp away towards the castle. A blade swipes across my leg and I yelp in pain. I continue to stagger towards the front gate as a wither jumps in front of me. My head spins from pain and exhaustion as the mobs grow closer. So I made it this far just to die in the front yard?

"STOP! You fools," something screams out from the castle. "The master will have us all killed if she is harmed!"

I can't quite make out the voice, but it sounds at least slightly familiar. The mobs stop attacking for a second and glance toward a balcony above the fortress. A blaze looks down at the mobs with a mixture of fear and horror. The mobs seem quite confused at the announcement and I fall onto my knees from blood loss.

"What do you mean foolish blaze?" A ghast screams angrily, "We are doing our job and protecting the fortress!"

"Trust me, if any of you kills that girl," the blaze replies. "that will be the last mistake your race ever makes."

Most of the mobs clear away, frightened by the looming threat. Standing up, I stager into the fortress and limp down the hallway if hell. About halfway to the door my legs give out again, and I fall to the floor. I lean against the wall and try to focus on my injuries.

"I am so sorry my lord," a voice apologizes behind me. "Most of the mobs from your era have died, I may be the only one."

The blaze from before leans over to help me up, and I begin to remember it.

"Zz!" I scream happily giving the blaze a hug, "It's been so long!"

"Glad to see you still remember me my lord," the blaze replies with a smile. "I see you still haven't memorized my name."

"Yeah, but it's like twelve numbers long with multiple random numbers," I complain. "How do you expect me to learn that, and Zz is so much shorter! Also what's with this 'lord' business?"

Seeing my old friend still alive brings back old memories from before my...death. Zz was my most trusted advisor and the only person I would talk to other then Herobrine.

"You were once partial leader of the Nether, and it's a term of respect given out to royalty," the ghast explains. "

"Yeah but I'm not royal," I argue persuasively. "I'm just awesome!"

"Your important to our master ," Zz states calmly. "That alone makes you important to the mobs."

"Oh yeah," I mutter. "Right..."

My injuries start to sting again and the burn has only healed slightly. Carefully I manage to take a few steps without falling over, and walk down the hall. Zz follows behind me, making sure I don't injure myself.

"Is my room still here?" I ask, noticing that the hallway grows darker the farther in you go.

"Of course my lord," Zz answers. "No one has even entered it until a few weeks ago, and that was when I went in to clear away cobwebs."

"I'm going to my room," I state casually. "Please alert the guards not to kill me...and Blaze 983z820z1780, my names Fate... not lord."

"Of course...Fate," Zz answers as I continue down the dimly lit hallway.

The walls look virtually untouched sense the last time I was here, and for a few seconds I let myself believe I really am. There's no war about to break lose, no power I possess that could greatly affect that wars outcome. I'm just getting ready to go ride a ghast, or meet up with Herobrine for battle training.

Every step seems to make the hallway darker, and I cant even see an inch in front of my face. I just smile at the darkness, it was my element after all... Most people seem to believe that Herobrines element was darkness, but he was always more interested in fire.

I come to a halt at the door and open it with ease. My instincts allow me to have a rough sketch of the terrain, even without seeing it. Technically, my ability to see is almost completely useless.

When the door opens I notice that the glowstone lamps still shine in my room. Unlike the rest of my wing in the fortress, my room has been changed a little. Curtains block out the lava glow from outside, and most of my photographs lay on the ground in piles. Other than that its still the same room though.

A huge glass window looks out onto the lava lake and my bed floats in midair using half slab technology. Enderchests sit in the corners of the room containing anything from weapons, to food, to healing supplies. Lounge chairs and enchanting supplies line the wall, and my favorite sword lays lays out on my desk.

Opening one of the medical supplies chests, I grab multiple bright color viles and a few pieces of cloth. I wash off the cuts, and wrap the injuries in the cloth to stop. Once I finish, I turn my attention to my burned leg. There's no way to ice it within the Nether, and I don't have the time to let it heal fully; I have to help the others fight the Shadows.

The little green numbers start to course through my vision immediately. Everything seems to fade away until I can only see the numbers. Part of my code line near my foot is damaged, so I change the numbers to match my other foot. I flip back into reality as my foot finishes healing itself. Usually I only use my power in emergencies, but I needed to heal as fast as possible.

I pick up one of the pictures and smile at the happy memory. Herobrine and I we're only 15 at the time, and I was forcing him to go ghast riding. He had thought it was a waste of time and tried to refuse, but I insisted and he was to stubborn to admit he had fun. We both were to stubborn really...

That's when the thought hits me; where was Herobrine? Shouldn't he be here welcoming me back? More thoughts combine in my head and I realize exactly what's going on. He was fighting to save the Aether...

Zoey shot the poison darts into the Shadows neck with precision. Behind her Rhythian and Sky tried to hold off more of the dark creatures. All three of the heroes had came to assist the Aether, but were instead fighting for their lives.

A few blocks over Notch continues to strike the ground with lightning. More and more shadowy creatures fill the skies and land each minute, and the island dimension continues to sink towards the ground.

Almost all, if not all of the other residents of the Aether are dead, and the islands have broken apart. The three heroes and god continues to strike down the humanoid creatures, but their only chance of hope is still two islands away. Not to mention that it consists of: two untrained demi gods, four mortals, a few Sky army recruits, and a partially insane demi god." Things had never seemed bleaker.

* * *

A little girl began to stare at the sky as the floating islands sunk toward the ground. The village was in turmoil, and most of the others were quick to flee to incoming projectile. Instead of running, the little girl stood at the edge of the sea and waited for it to crash. She could sense not only her older brother and sister on the island, but also her parents.

* * *

Time to detonation: 10:00 minutes


	15. Chapter 15

9:10-9:09-9:08-9:07-9:06-9:05-9:04-9:03

* * *

Brandon and Syque finish off searching through a collapsed building. The entire cloudy realm seems destroyed or falling apart, and there hasn't been a single survivor. Three figures run through the hidden passageways behind them.

"Hey Syque, you find anything," Brandon yells out. "It doesn't look like anything survived to me."

"Nothing here," Syque replies slipping out from under a broken stairwell and shaking his head as he gazes around. "I'm the type of guy who prefers good fighting and good food; not whatever this is. The entire dimension destroyed by some creatures."

Brandon just nods in reply to his comment and adds, "We don't really have a choice anymore. I think there's something bigger than us going on here, something bigger then all of us, it might just be bigger than Minecraft for all we know!"

"Yeah I can sense it to," Syque mutters. "I doubt I'll have a very big part to play though."

"What do you mean by that?" Brandon questions slowly, "You're fighting to protect the Aether from some sort of creatures, how is that not a big part?!"

Syque turns away and lets out a sigh replying, "I'm not sure, I just know something is going to happen."

"Come on, we should start heading towards the eastern islands," Brandon adds breaking the silence. "We don't want to be blown up by a nuke."

The two start walking towards the sky bridges leading to the middle and then eastern provinces of the Aether. More broken buildings lay fallen in the streets, but we walk by without stopping. No one was still alive in there.

"Hey guys, wait up," someone yells behind us as sound of footsteps fill the air.

Tyler and the others skid into the clearing with little Mark at their heals. They look pretty healthy minus a few scratches and an explosion mark on apricots forehead.

"We got the bomb ready," Apricot yells out. "Everyone has to get off the island."

"Where's Steve and Maria?" Brandon questions. "Are they coming."

"We thought they would be here already," Stripes growls. "That means they're still fighting somewhere on the island."

"I'll go find, you guys get to the eastern border and prepare to leave," Tyler yells running back toward the center of the island.

Syque nods to the others in reply and says," ok everyone else is still fighting, but it's time we take a defensive stand."

"So we have to head toward the eastern border?" Apricot asks with a groan. "I can't believe I have to take orders from Tyler, but it looks like I don't have a choice."

A group of Shadows depart from a nearby island and fly straight toward the humans. One slams into Stripes sending her sliding towards a toppled building. Syque and Brandon grab their swords and attempt to counter the attacks.

Apricot tries to fend off two of the creatures while crouching dangerously near the edge. Syque sprints toward her trying to help, but an explosion knocks them off their feet. The ground collapses beneath them as Apricot grabs the edge of the island.

Syque grabs onto her foot and they hang off the side of the island; 1,000 blocks above the ground

Brandon swats a Shadow away and runs for the edge. He tries to pull the two back onto the platform, but they're combined weight is to much for the blacksmith. Stripes is unconscious half way across the clearing and Mark is to small to help.

"It's time I let go," Syque says looking back up toward his friends. "If I let go then Apricot can live, and i don't want us both to fall to our doom..."

"You can't let go," Apricot screams. "Hold on, we're almost up."

"This isn't my adventure," Syque mutters with a slight smile. "Just remember what your fighting for..."

The man with the black hair lets go of her foot and falls. Brandon pulls Apricot back onto the floating island as the figure falls out of sight. They both slowly work there way to their feet and go to collect the others. Maria said some of us would die, but no one thought it would be like that...

"He's... dead... Syque just died," Apricot murmurs. "I can't believe he's dead."

"We have to keep going," Brandon commands hiding his own shock. "Don't forget about the nuke."

"Oh yeah," she mutters without her usual sarcastic manner. "What happens to all the Shadows?"

They both look toward the main island in the distance. The dark creatures circle the island continuously and more seem to appear every moment.

Apricot wakes Stripes up from her unconscious state, while Brandon locates Mark hiding under some debris. Everyone staggers to their feet and starts to limp toward the western most island.

"Where's Syque?" Stripes asks after a long pause, "He was with you."

"There was a fight," Apricot replies quietly. "We both got swept of the edge and he let go so I could live."

Stripes gasps in surprise and mutters some sort of prayer under her breath. Of course the place she prayed to was being destroyed, but perhaps it would help his spirit reach the Void in peace.

We reach the edge of the eastern islands after a few minutes, and most of them look back toward the main island. Somewhere in the center of this realm was a bomb slowly ticking away.

* * *

3:05...3:04...3:03...3:02...3:01...3:00...

* * *

I thrust my sword into another Shadow as the group grows closer. Maria hasn't left my side sense the other person, or 'Herobrine' as he announced himself arrived. Multiple questions and suspicions spin around in my head, but I silence them. It's better I question her as to what's going on in private, not surrounded by random people we barely even know.

Herobrine turns around beheading creatures as he does and knocks a group of Shadows off the island. His twin obsidian blades knock one of the Shadows off balance and throws the corpse at a few in the sky.

Maria notices the airborne creatures and slides a pair of mechanical glasses over her eyes. She grabs ahold of a hunting bow from her bag and starts to target the creatures. The glasses must enhance her vision because every arrow meets its target, and the creatures bodies rain down onto the mainland below.

I thrust my own sword into a Shadow and swipe its accomplice behind it. Dark blood covers the ground and I turn away in disgust. These were the creatures who are killing the Aether, I shouldn't have any pity for them...

The Sky Army recruits follow along behind us, tearing away at any creatures the three of us don't kill.

My sword seems to aim itself, and I begin to question if its really because of instinct. If I was the recantation of the first hero, wouldn't that give me unnatural fighting abilities or something? That's something I should ask Maria once this is all over.

The island ends a few blocks ahead and giant sky bridges connect us to the next island. Shadows swarm the island in huge masses. Bolts if lightning explode throughout the sky and screeches fill the air.

"I think we found my brother," Herobrine mutters stepping onto the bridge. "You should all head back."

Maria appears to consider this carefully, but I growl out, "we came this far... what's the point in turning back now?"

The Sky Army decides to return realizing that there's no use continuing on, and Maria asks them to escort our friends on the eastern islands back to the mainland. Kaito and the others agree and head out toward the other islands.

"Surely you're not bringing a human into that fight," Herobrine questions emphasizing the word 'human'. "It's very likely he will meet a quick death at the hands of those creatures.

Before I can disagree with the comment Maria starts to laugh and mutters, "I'm sorry, but this is just absolutely hilarious to listen to. Someday I'm sure you'll figure out why, but until then this is just irony in its cruelest state."

Herobrine just frowns and replies, "I do not understand what you mean."

Someone behind us screams," Oh god!" As Tyler stumbles into the clearing staring at all three of us. "No one move."

"Tyler, calm down everything's fine," Maria states sending him the shut up right now or you'll ruin everything look.

He just gasps and mutters,"but... but... but they... what is going on..."

Herobrine turns back toward the main island and growls, "it's time we helped the others."

* * *

2:00... 1:59...1:58... 1:57... 1: 56... 1:55...

* * *

...I'm sorry :( but I have to kill off some people... this is also even later then usual but ugh tried to post at 5:00 pm yesterday but I had to leave... The cast will change quite a bit and even main characters might die. If I kill off your OC feel free to submit a new one If you want but then they might die to...0.o...


	16. Chapter 16

Im back ^_^ sorry it took me so long, but I actually have two excuses for this one. First is thecrew cover art, and second is that I'm beginning to work on another story at the moment which I am trying to post next friday or so. I also posted a new poll on my profile so that I can understand what you guys want to happen next. This is also what Itends to call 'peace before the storm' or in other words, I'm making you wait for the end of the Aether battle. Now I get to do my random shout out edition. [No I am nowhere near the end of this story, it's just beginning]

BlackDragon41- For being one of my favorite authors and for supporting me all the way.

Myraid Of Pixles- For being awesome and writing awesome story. [WHY YOU LEAVE DAT CLIFFHANGER !]

Stackz- For supporting me sense well... basically the entire time...

stripesthetiger11- for the awesome reviews

EveDragno- For the nice reviews

Thx you guys, I probably would have given up a long time ago without all the support :D

* * *

I change into a more suitable outfit once my room is reassembled to my liking. Living in the Nether, clothing is commonly thin but well armored. Putting on a black blouse and knee length jeans, I notice my old cloak hanging in the very back of the closet. Strange, I could have sworn I was wearing that when I... when I died...

My hand grasps the collar of the ancient cloak, and I realize its true; this is mine. The silver stitching symbolizing the stars engraved on the right and the gold symbolizing the light of day. Everything seems to sway around me as memories eat away at my conscious.

Everything is my fault, not just the broken Aether. I'm the reason there's going to be a war, I'm the reason everyone's going to die. That's my job though... I didn't write the prophecy. No, that was decided long before I ever began to walk the lands of Minecraft.

I pull the cloak over my shoulders and slip my arms into the sleeves. People have died, and people will keep dying no matter what we do. My feet start to walk toward the old dresser in the back of the room, and the drawer creaks open with ease.

Inside is a small piece of parchment paper that has been shoved into one of the corners.

Do not believe the lies. The Shadows rise with every death and have taken possession of the light. Heroes must fight, but all will fail if Destruction or Creation is lost; the balance must stay in place. Destiny will be revealed to those who question their own Fate, but death will silence those who know its secrets. Even the brightest light can be possessed by darkness. The legend of Infinity...

Every word of the transcript tends to worry me. It talks about death so often and the Shadows growing stronger... that can't happen...right?

I pull my hair away from my neck and slice away about a foot of it. My golden hair flutters to the floor and incinerates on the nether brick below. Its still fairly long without the extra foot, and I don't have time to deal with it snagging in battle.

Quickly I toss my worn down shoes into the closet and replace them with a pair of sturdy leather hunting boots. I check my reflection and smile when I notice that I'm starting to look like myself again.

With my hair cut off at the neck line except for two strands in the front, and with my old cloak covering my shoulders. The last thing I notice is that my eyes are a silent silver again instead of their typical grey color.

There's a knock at the door and Zz enters carrying a batch of health potions. The blaze tosses a splash potion onto the floor at my feet and my remaining injuries finish healing. "Thought you might need these."

"What do you mean by that?" I question carefully, "sure I'm injured but I have plenty of time to heal..."

Zz shoots me a long calculating glance before replying, "I know you better than that Fate. You want to go and help him as soon as possible, do you not?" I nod in admittance and a smile works its way onto my face. "That is why you are in need of the potions."

There's a long awkward pause before I ask, "things seem different since the last time I was here...did something change?"

The blaze goes silent for a moment before replying," of course my lord, things always change."

"No not like that," I explain with a groan. "It's just that everyone seems more serious, and the whole place seems darker and more violent..."

"What were you expecting?" Zz replies with a hint of a snarl," happiness and joy? This is the Nether, not some fantasy land."

"Because I was gone," I murmur slowly. "Something happens because I died... didn't it."

"Very much happened my Lord," the blaze replies with a sigh. "The details will just make it feel

worse."

"I... I need... i should know,"I contemplate slowly. "Please Zz, I want to know."

"Once he found out you had... passed away," Zz begins quietly. "Herobrine grew more... angry and more... sullen. Most of the recreational activities ceased, and almost all effort was put into fighting. We... we thought he was just adding extra precautions, but we were wrong. Oh, we were oh so wrong..."

I notice the fear in his voice and add, "what... what happened then?"

"He wanted revenge," the Blaze murmurs slowly. "On the human who had killed you..so after he killed the man, he took the mobs and layers siege to some of the main cities."

"The human that killed me?" I question slowly. "What do you mean, I was never attacked by any human."

Zz looks up in shock and yells,"WHAT!"

* * *

_Fate walked through one of the forests in the Overworld late at night. A few other humans had settled down in her private valley, but she had been happy to share. She spent almost all of her time in the Nether anyways. A few small houses had sprang around the river, but she was more interested in a small cabin deep in the woods. Another figure followed behind her at a careful distance._

_"... Fate?" A voice questioned. "Is that you?"_

_Fate spun around and spotted a young girl with night black hair staring at her. She imediately ran and gave her friend a hug._

_"Era! It's been so long," Fate said with a smile. "I can't belive how tall you are now!"_

_"I'm fifteen now," Era replied." Where have you been, you haven't visited the Overworld in over a year." _

_"Sorry about that," Fate explained. "I just got so busy all of a sudden..."_

_"Well I guess that's kind of expected," Era replied with a giggle. "You being the Guardien of our town and all. Not to mention that you're basically co-ruler of the Nether and the only thing keeping a certain demi god from annihilating our entire race."_

_"Herobrine would never do that," Fate argued with a frown. "You've never even met him."_

_"Whatever you want to believe Fate, whatever you want to believe," Era replied. "Hey you should come see the others, they'll be excited to see you!"_

* * *

_My head snaps out of my memories and I find myself gazing out the window of my room. Zz looks slightly worried about my current mental condition, and I can't exacately blame the poor blaze. Ive been staring out this window for quite some time now. Another dissy streakstarts to fill my head, and I find my vision turning into a bright red swirl of darkness._

_When everything begins to stop spinning I notice that I'm still in my room in the fortress. However the hellish terrain of the Nether is in chaos as mobs run toward figures on the hillside. Another peice snaps into place and i realize where i am; this is the future. A group of humans work their way toward the castle; fighting as they go. Most of the mobs are lined in attack formation, and Herobrine stands in the middle. One of the humans run straight for him, but he steps to the side and drives his blade through the mortals chest. A few of the other humans let out cries of anger and rush toward the demi god. _

_More corpses land on the ground with a sickening thud, and I find myself staring in horror at the violence. Herobrine had always been powerful, but I had never seen him like this. With his eyes blairing out true hatred, and killing without even a second of hesitation. This is what happens when I die... the words start rushing back to me and the memory of Era fills my mind._

_"You're the only thing keeping a certain demi god from annihilating our entire race."_


	17. Chapter 17

**More waiting :D *im sorry :(* I'm trying to get the first chapter of Death Threats ready but it's really long and took a ton of research to write... So yeah. (im trying to have the first chapter out friday) All OCs will be coming in during part two. Part one is almost concluded and should be finished once the AETHER BATTLE is completed. Anyways I'm trying to give Fate more of a personality because she gets to be pretty awesome. There will be a lot of flashback visions and future visions with her and I'll explain why later. I assume there will be At LEAST 3 parts, but it will probably be more like 6 or 7 because the plot tends to change a lot. Anyways- on to the chapter! **

* * *

My eyes gradually open to the light of the lava reflecting through the windows. Everything I had just seen was... a dream? Part of me tries to confirm that, but the more realistic side tells the truth. That vision of a battle...of... of Herobrine killing so many people... it was real. Well not real yet; I'm assuming this battle is in the future, but I suppose it could have been from the past as well...

No, it has to be the future, I can't let this happen. So many people have already or will die because of me; I have to try and stop this one. I notice that I'm laying on my bed, and I begin to wonder how I got here. Wasn't I standing next to the window?

When I attempt to stand up, I notice a sharp pain in the back of my head. I must have passed out after that vision, and someone moved me.

My re-coded leg try's to walk, but its still quite weak compared to the other, and I drop to the floor. Using my hands and working foot, i manage to collect an old wooden stick from my supplies. I must have only passed out a little while ago, because my supplies still wait by the door.

Two obsidian blades and a bag filled with supplies rest against the wall. I grab the bag and swing it over my shoulder, and attach the swords to my belt. The world starts to swirl again, and I find myself fighting to maintain my consciousness. It's a fight I can't win.

* * *

"NO! Era! Era you have to wake up now!"

"There's no point Terrance, were doomed now; everyone is."

"We're not dead until I say so!"

"That might not be to long..."

"Come on, we have to get as far away from the demon as possible. If we can make it to the edge of town we could slip away."

"There are to many mobs, and the entire town is burning to the ground. We don't stand a chance."

"We couldn't depend on her forever you know, she was mortal like the rest of us."

"She died protecting me! This is all my fault..."

"Era, that's not true. She died fighting with some sort of creature in the woods. You had nothing to do with it."

"She could have fled, but she couldn't because I was there. That's why she decided to fight it; so I could escape. Everything is my fault."

"No one has the complete blame for what's happening. All I know is that if we want to survive, then we should get out of town before it burns to the ground."

The world opens up around me, and I spot Era and Terrance fleeing through the destruction of a town. Mobs flood the streets, and fires burn. This is the past, and judging from that conversation earlier points toward this being shortly after my death. Why do I have to keep seeing all of this destruction?

That's when another figure appears through the ruined town. A shadowy figure with cold glowing eyes. I know deep down that this is only a vision, but every instinct screams at me to run in the opposite direction.

"Finish off this town," he growls turning towards the woods. "Burn these trees down as well. There should be nothing left when I return."

Zz said that a human had killed me. I don't recall a human, but something happened to me. My feet run towards the woods and I head towards the old cabin. The fire fills the forest, and smoke clots the air.

I nearly trip over something and turn to spot a stone sword lying in the burned grass. My breath catches in my throat when I spot the body lying next to it; mine. Apart from a stab mark straight through the heart it looks virtually uninjured.

Grabbing ahold of the stone sword I notice that it's of human craftsmanship. Probably the human of the forest cabin, but one thing doesn't match up. The chest wound couldn't have been caused by a sword this weak; this was left here for a different reason. To make it seem like the human did it.

A figure emerges from the woods and I jump back when I notice him. Herobrine just stares sadly at the clearing for a few moments and then mutters, "I'm going to make them pay for this Fate. They will pay for their mistake."

I just jump up and scream, "Stop it! It's all wrong, the humans didn't kill me! Herobrine you have to stop right now; all these people are innocent!"

He can't hear me and starts to walk away. The last thing he does is look towards the cabin in the woods and gives it a final angry glance. I follow his eyes to the house and watch as a human flees from the small hut and runs into the deeper part of the forest. This must be the human that he believes killed me. Why doesn't he just kill him? That's when a darker thought appears in my head. Death was to easy for this human, he wants him to lose everything. To feel what it's like to have everything you've ever worked for stripped away. He would let the human live for now, but only until he decided to kill him or the human turned to face him in battle. That was when he would kill him.

Everything seems so wrong about what has happend... My vision clouds, and I find myself slipping away yet again.

* * *

"Fate? Fate are you ok? You seem kind of... off," a voice asks as the world stops swirling. "Do you need to sit down?"

"Where am I? What year is this?" I question trying to locate the voice.

"You must have really hit your head hard," the voice replies. "Your in the Nether, and I'm not really sure about the year; i think it's 1017..."

1017 thats more than a thousand Minecraft years ago, i'm inmthe past! Or at least whatever I need to figure out is.

"Do I need to get help?" The voice asks with a small amount of concern, "I didn't know you were injured that badly. You only hit your head."

My eyes adjust to the bright lava light of the Nether battle training field, and I notice Herobrine looking at my with concern. Part of me freaks out knowing now that he's killed so many people, but my mind forcibly rejects the idea. This was the old Herobrine, the kid I grew up with. Not the demon who murdered all those people... not yet at least. Wait, what would that make hactual actual reality? My best friend or my worst enemy? Is it possible that he's both?

"Yeah... I'm fine... Just fine,"I mutter standing up. "What happend exacately?"

"You hit your head on a Netherbrick block," he replies with a smirk. "You tend to fall over quite a bit."

I just shake my head and reply with a groan, "don't remind me."

"Are you up for more battle training, or do you want to take a break?" He questions while picking up a bow. "What about archery?"

"I absoloutely hate archery," I reply with a sigh. "But I don't want to hurt myself again."

"Archery it is than," Herobrine states. "You shouldn't admit you're hurt by the way."

"Why not?" I ask picking up the second bow and loading an arrow, "It's the truth isn't it."

"No, its just fine around here," he replies. "But you should always try to hide the pain,I because it can make you seem weak."

"You think I'm weak?" I question lifting an eyebrow, "You'd be dead right now if you weren't my friend."

"I find that hard to believe," he adds playfully. "Last time I checked you can't even hurt a slime."

"That a bet?" I growl. "I could beat you no problem."

He just smiles and replies, "that's not true."

"I could," I argue shooting one of the pumpkin targets straight through the eye. "You know I can as well even if you won't admit it."

"You can't beat me Fate," he adds more quietly. "Because we've always been dead even."


	18. Chapter 18

**IM BACK :D :D :D and this is my first ever Friday Spectacular of Special Spectacular... i will work on that title. Anyways, I meant to have this up yesterday but I sort of had a problem come up. By problem I mean I had a pretty awesome spill on my bike where i was going down a hill, hit a curve, only the front breaks worked. So basically i got catapulted about four foot onto a curve and landed on my side. The good news is I did a pretty bad ass flip (legit) the actual good news is that I walked away with a few bruises and a cut on my hand. No idea how I got off the hook so easy this time because usually I severely injure myself by doing easy things. (like breaking my foot while chasing after a frisbee. I tripped... on flat pavement XD) So yeah this is the end of part one of The Real Final Battle and the next chapter and start of part two should be up sunday or monday. The OCs will come in soon I PROMISE 0.0 I just have to end the battle scene and then they come in a little later. Wow... very long author note and enjoy the end of part one. **

* * *

The floating island was much larger than the others the group had come across. Just getting into the island had been a huge problem with all the Shadows flying around. I swipe my sword at a pair that fly to close and send them plummeting towards the Overworld below. Maria and Tyler are slowly working their way towards the center of the island, and Herobrine is already half way there.

I begin to work my way towards the center of the island at a quickening pace. The swing of my sword is completely normal to me now, and I find myself attacking harder and with more force. A swing there, stab there, move here, and repeat until i can reach the center.

"Impressive," a voice states behind me. "I thought you would be dead by now."

"I don't give up very easily," I reply, realizing the voice is Herobrine's. "You just got to keep going."

"You sound like someone I knew a long time ago," he adds after a long pause. "She never gave up without a fight either..."

I just nod respectfully and return to the fight. After a little while I notice that I'm almost to the center of the island. A huge bolt of white light flys toward my head and I narrowly step to the side. My first instinct is to run, but a second figure arrives just behind me.

"Calm down Notch, were here to help," Herobrine growls. "It would be best for now if you let this one keep his head."

Four figures with weapons drawn watch carefully as we approach. Maria and Tyler catch up behind us and follow more slowly. Three of the figures wear black cloaks that block out their appearance. The fourth is a bald man with a beard who was shooting the light at me earlier.

The cloaked figures each carry some sort of weapon: one has a gold sword, the next one over has some sort of a red katana, and the third has a dart gun. For some reason the man or 'Notch' as Herobrine called him isn't carrying a weapon. My question in answered a second later when a blast of white light wipes a group of Shadows of the face of the Aether. I guess he doesn't particularly need a weapon at the moment...

"We need to get off the Aether," Tyler yells out over the battle. "There's only about a minute left before the nuke goes off."

"A nuke,"The man with the katana growls angrily. "What do you mean there's a nuke?"

"The Aether is over run with Shadows," Maria explains. "We already searched for survivors. It would be best to get off the island and let it take all of these creatures with it."

"Your not just about to blow up my home," Notch yells.

"I believe it would be best to... nuke the Aether," Herobrine comments. "Notch, you must be reasonable. The Aether is overrun by Shadows, and almost all of the gods are dead. It would be best to take these things down with the Aether instead of letting them have control of this dimension."

"For once I must agree with Herobrine," the man with the golden sword comments, shooting the white eyed man an awkward glance. "It we have to lose the Aether, why not bring a few of these things with it?"

"...It's like all the people that want to kill each other or have killed each other have to work together," Tyler mutters quietly. "Weird."

"The nuke is already positioned and will go off in a short while," Maria explains. "It would be best if we returned to the Overworld."

"What gives you the authority to place a nuke in the Aether?" The man with the katana questions. "We don't even know you, much less trust you with an explosive device."

"I have plenty of authority to do this," Maria growls. "My name alone is usually enough."

"Who are you then?" The man with the katana questions, "I would pick your answer wisely."

"My name is Maria," she replies anger filling her green eyes. "Maria Laverna Enderborn and my brother Tyler Jim Enderborn. Oh and this is my friend Steve... who doesn't really have a last name but is still kind of important."

The man with the katana jumps back looking exceedingly shocked. Notch looks on as if he knew exactly what was going on. While the person with the dart gun begins to stare at the siblings, which causes both Maria and Tyler to shift uncomfortably.

"Maria... and Tyler," the figure with the dart gun whispers in a distinct female accent. "I can't believe that... that after all these years..."

"There's no time for that," the man with the katana adds sympathetically. "We need to vacate the dimension at once."

"I'm not leaving," Notch growls in reply before running towards a different island. "I'll stop this bomb."

"Tyler get these three and Steve off the island," Maria commands. "I'm going to get Notch."

Herobrine follows his brother at lighting fast speeds, and Maria sprints after the two. Tyler starts barking out commands to get off the dimension, but I find myself running after Maria.

"Steve!" Tyler hollers, "Theres no time for that, we have to get off the island. My sisters a demi god, she can survive a nuke blast."

"I'm going after her," I yell back. "She's going to need my help."

"Jump over the edge before the nuke blows," Tyler explains. "Were over the largest ocean in Minecraft, and you'll survive the fall. Just make sure you jump before it explodes."

"You can't make me leave," Notch growls as the three of us reach his location. "This is my home, I'm not about to let it explode."

~_~_~_~_~_~10 SECONDS TO DETONATION~_~_~_~_~_~_~_~

"Notch we have to go now, it's to late to save the Aether," Herobrine yells.

The bearded man nods sadly and casts one last sad glance at the dimension before sprinting for the edge of the world. All four of us run towards the edge as the timer ticks away.

5...

4...

3...

Herobrine and Notch lunge over the edge and disappear below the side of the island.

2...

My foot suddenly snags on some sort of a block, causing me to trip and fall to the ground. Maria reaches the edge but turns to help me.

1...

Her face fills with shear terror and her mouth opens to scream. All I here is dead silence before a blinding white light fills my vision; everything goes black.

* * *

I sneak through the secret passageways of the Nether fortress with ease. Technically I wasn't suppose to leave the fortress without permission, but I never exactly asked for permission either. The world around me is sharp and vivid, and I find myself wanting to believe that this really is my reality.

Then everything comes back to me in one painful jolt of memories.

I died

My friends all died because of me

A human was blamed

That human also died because of me

Herobrine killed them

He killed them because he loved me

Killed them because I died and they were framed

Again my fault... more or less

The Aether is being destroyed

Because I made a bargain with the Shadows

I'm here because the Aether isn't

He's fighting to keep the Aether

So he might die because of me

He might die trying to protect the thing I allowed to be destroyed to keep him safe

Ironic

Now I'm in the past

Because I can't just live with my mistakes

No, I have to see all of the violence I caused

I'm a very messed up person...

I leave the fortress behind me and walk out onto the hot netherrack. All I want to do is return to reality so I can face my mistakes. As i stand here more people are dying and I can't do a thing to stop it. Part of me wants to stay in my vision and forget about the present. I shove that part aside and climb up onto one of the Netherrack mountains that line the lava lakes.

Laying down, I look up at the dark sky and wonder whats going on in the present as I sit here. How many people are now dead? Is he dead? I sit up at the sound of approaching footsteps and notice Herobrine climbing up the slope.

"Thought I'd find you here," he says with a smile sitting down next to me. "You always sneak out here when you need to think about stuff."

"You have no idea," I reply shaking my head.

We sit there in silence for a few minutes and stare up at the sky. He lays down and points at one of the glowstone mounds on the top of the cavern. I find myself naturally falling backwards, and we just lay on the ground and look at the sky.

"Have you ever seen the stars?" He asks quietly.

I just shake my head in reply and admire the lava light reflecting off the nettherack of the ceiling. It's weird laying next to him, i know that he will murder so many people; yet It's almost calming just sitting here.

He sits up and replies, "What! You have to see them then!"

"Were in the Nether," I add with a smile. "I don't think that's possible."

"Yeah I guess that's true," he replies with a sigh. "I used to see them all the time... before I came here."

My breath catches in the back of my throat and pity works its way into my emotions. This was the Herobrine who I grew up with, the Herobrine who could always make me laugh or cry. Though the laughing part was mostly through sarcasm because he couldn't actually tell a joke to save his life.

"Notch used to have to work on a few things on the Overworld every now and then," he explains with a smile. "Usually he would bring me with him and I would just find the highest point and look at the stars until I had to leave."

"What do stars look like?" I ask trying to recall the image of a night sky.

"Well they look like... glowstone... only smaller and brighter," Herobrine states carefully. "There are millions or billions of them, and they would fill the night sky."

"Oh," I reply quietly. "They must look pretty cool then."

He just nods and replies, "Yeah."

We both sit there silently for another few moments and I try to imagine stars. For some reason I can't accurately picture them in my head and give in with a sigh.

"What was it like before I came?" I question slowly, trying to imagine Herobrine as a six year old and failing quite badly. "Back when you had just arrived in the Nether."

"Well it was a lot more boring without you here," he replies with a smile. "Alot more peaceful to."

"I'm not sure if I should take offense at that comment or not," I add with a groan.

There's another long pause before Herobrine says, "Fate."

I jump a little at the change in tone, but calm down and ask, "what?"

"You are happy here... right?" He questions slowly. "I mean I'm the only person you can talk to, and well this place isn't exactly a natural environment."

"You want to know if I like it here?" I question keeping my tone flat and emotionless.

"I guess that's basically... that's more or less what I want to... yeah," he replies staring at me with a mixture of fear and understanding.

"Herobrine," I say with a smile. "There's no place I'd rather be."

His eyes glow with a mixture of relief and pure joy which he tries to hide in embaresment. That's when a sound pulls me straight out of my vision and back to reality.

An ear splitting "Boom."

* * *

(End of Part One)


	19. Chapter 19

**Hi :D hope you guys had an awesome Easter, or if you don't celebrate Easter an a wesome weekend. If you don't have weekends... well I just hope you had a great.. . time period... Anyways the next two chapters are 'backround' chapters and the actual: WHAT HAPPEND TO STEVE AND EVERYBODY! Chapters will not begin until chapter 21 :/ but these next few chapters will explain a few things... and add more questions. (If I make things clearer I have to also make things more confusing) Also my spring break is actually next week and I will be going on vacation with my family. I'm going to try and post chapters but I dont know if I will have time ... or Internet access... I WILL TRY WITH ALL MY POWER! Finnaly I would like to apologize for my lack of posting, my life is REALLY busy at the moment and the only time I have to actually write this is on the bus... After spring break my life is going to calm down quite a bit and I should be able to get back on schedule... I think XD...**

* * *

**( A little more than 1000 years ago)**

Fate and Enra walk through the woods toward a large structure in the distance. A large cobblestone wall rises up about twenty blocks and half slabs overhang on the sides; preventing spiders from climbing over. The wall is in the shape of a rectangle, surrounding the small human civilization from the creatures of the night. Wheat fields line the valley, and wooden fences attempt to keep mobs off of the crops. Animals graze in various pastures, while carrots and potatoes fill gardens.

"Terrance," Enra calls out as the two approach the gate. "Look who I found!"

A boy with dark brown hair and shadowy black eyes appears on top of the wall. He looks down at the two and his iron armor clinks a bit at the movement. For a few moments he eyes the two suspiciously before letting a smile roll onto his face .

"Look who showed up," he calls out with a laugh. "We were starting to think you forgot all about us."

"She wouldn't forget about us," Enra argues playfully. "Now are you going to let us in, or are we going to have to wait till monsters spawn."

Terrance disappears over the railing, and a few seconds later multiple pistons contract to form a small doorway. The two girls enter through the walls and step out into the civilization. Gravel paths run through the town, providing space to move throughout the civalazation. Houses stand tall against the evening sun, and they form neat little rows leading toward the center of town. A few trees and grass blocks fill multiple slots; forming little parks and clearings. Various vendors have set up little tents, and are trying to sell different products and supplies.

"It's so different now," Fate states in amazement, moving her gaze from one section to another. "To think this was that dinky little settlement a few months ago ."

"Yeah we've had to expand a bit," Enra adds with a laugh. "We keep outgrowing the walls."

"A bit," Terrance says sarcastically; rolling his eyes. "The population has more than tripled sense the last time you were here."

Fate jumps back in surprise and replies, " how are there so many people?"

"I dunno, they just keep spawning I guess," Enra adds casually and then pauses. "Wait, you HAVE to see town hall!"

"Town hall?" Fate question in confusion, "what's town hall?"

"It's where the leaders of our town work ," Terrance adds pulling the two toward the center of town. "It's probably our towns greatest achievement."

The three of them sprint towards the center of town with Fate followings along in confusion. She looks around at the various houses and buildings and a slight frown forms on her face. 'Almost all the buildings are made of wood. What would happen if there was a fire?' Shaking off the worrisome thought she continues on toward the town square. 'Theres no reason that there would ever be a fire, and I' m sure that they can handle a few flames anyways.'

"There it is," Terrance yells out as he comes to a screeching halt. "The pride and joy of our town."

Up ahead a four story building expands out for many plots. The front is held up by giant oak wood pillers, and giant windows line the perimeter of the building. It towers over all of the buildings in town, and is larger than ten houses. Fate let out a smile, but the worry began to push its way back into her head. 'This entire building is made completely out of wood.'

"It's truly amazing," Enra adds gazing proudly at the prestigious building. "A tribute to our town!"

"Yes... definitely a... tribute to your town," Fate replies imagining a fire sweeping though the halls of the building.

"You should show her our house as well," Terrance adds. "It's pretty cool."

"YOUR house," Fate adds with a faint smirk. "So you to finally got together huh, just like i said you would."

"Not like that," Enra replies with a blush. "We'll sort of like that, but not the way you're thinking."

"We both wanted to live by the water," Terrance explains. "But water property is so expensive that neither of us could afford it. We realized that if we pooled our money we would have enough; different houses and everything."

"Whatever you say," Fate adds. "It's not my business anyways, and your what... 15 now?"

"Sixteen," Enra clarifies. "Almost seventeen."

"Right,"Fate apologizes. "You really lose track of time in the Nether."

Terrance and Enra walk back through the town towards the river that runs through the edge of town. Both of the teens look slightly embarrassed, and Fate smirks knowing she was the cause.

A river runs straight through the northernmost part of town, and the outer wall is located a few plots away. Wooden docks run up and down the river, and boats float leisurely on the gentle tide. Most of the houses are also made of wood, but a few have been constructed out of stone and sandstone.

"Here it is," Enra adds with a smile. "Its pretty nice."

The plot holds two identical stone houses with large windows to look out over the water. Fate began to relax a little at the sight of a stone house. 'They would be fine, and the river is right there i f anything was to happen.'

"Whose this?" Questions a voice, and a boy with dark brown hair and ice blue eyes. "I've never seen you before."

"It's probably just another nobody Kale, " adds a slightly younger boy as he jumps over the side rail. "Hey Enra and Terrance, you know this girl."

"Bobby," Kale warns with a laugh. "It's probably just a new spawn, nothing to get worked up over."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Enra adds casting an apologetic glance at Fate. "These two still haven't learned about the history of out town yet."

"Your blaming this on us," Kale growls. "Some random stranger waltzes into town and when town guards come to check on the situation you blame them. What is your logic exactly?"

"I'm sorry," Fate says hiding a smirk. " I never properly introduced myself."

"Yes, see even the stranger agrees with us," Bobby adds shooting Enra a superior glance. "Now please, introduce yourself before we run you out of town.

"My name is Fate," Fate replies with a disapproving look. "I'm one of the founders of this town."

"Founders," Kale growls angrily. "The founders all live in town hall. Come on Bobby let's run this imposter off."

Both boys draw their swords and charge toward the girl with golden hair. Enra and Terrance look on with surprise, but are unable to do anything. Kale's blade swipes toward Fates hand but she grabs it mid-swing. The boy looks up in shock as the iron blade snaps in two and crumbles into little pieces. Bobby draws a bow and fires an arrow at the girl. She deflect it in into the river without taking any damage.

"What are you?" Kale questions staring wide eyed at the shards of his sword. "You just took both attacks single handed without weapons or anything, and we're both trained fighters as well."

"I am one of the founders of this town," Fate answers honestly. "I would have lived within the town, but I have duties elsewhere."

"Ok, but where did you learn to fight li ke that?" Bobby questions. "Up until a few months ago I trained as an assassin, yet i never met anyone who fought like you."

"My friend taught me," she answers sternly. "That was nowhere near my best of course, if I wanted you dead you wouldn't be here at the moment. However my instinct told me you had simply made a mistake, and I was willing to take pity on your simpleminded actions."

"Our simpleminded what!" Bobby growls grabbing for another arrow. He looks down only to notice that both his golden sword and all of the arrows are broken into pieces. "They're all broken! How did you?"

"While you foolishly gaped at my fighting abilities," she answers with a smirk. "It was purely cautionary of course; being you tried to kill me."

"Your friend trained you," Kale grumbles . "With what you just did, i wouldn't be surprised if this friend was Herobrine himself. Of course thats impossible being he's the demon who rules over the Mobs and Nether; not to mention hates all of humanity."

"Whatever you fools wish to believe," Fate adds walking away. "Whatever you wish to believe."

"You should probably be heading back soon," Enra calls out. "It's almost sunset and you should probably return home before its night."

"Yes, I should be going," Fate agrees casting a last glance at the guards. "Do not question the power of those greater then you. It is for the same reason you do not give hugs to creepers; they will kill you without a second thought."

Enra and Fate head back towards the gates and Terrance watches as they leave. Bobby and Kale look at each other in shock before turning back toward Terrance.

"Who... who was that?" Kale stutters out . "Not even the Mayor talks with that sort of authority."

"That would be Fate," Terrance adds with a laugh. "Shes not usually like that, but you were rude to her. Then you attacked her, and finally you accused her friend of being evil. It was probably the last part that really angered her."

"We never accused her friend of being evil," Bobby growls trying to grab the remains of his weaponry. "Yes we accused this 'friend' of being like Herobrine, but we never actually criticized them."

"You did," Terrance replies with a sigh, and begins to walk away. "I'm afraid you'll never understand why though."

After Terrance had left, Kale adds, "let 's just forget this ever happened."

"Agreed," Bobby replies. "To think we got beat by some random girl who just happened to be in town. If any of the other guards knew about this we would be the laughing stock of the town for days."

"Who do you think her 'friend' was?" Kale asks steeling a glance at the two girls as they leave town. "I know there are some pretty amazing sword masters up in the northern mountain range, but this seems different."

"I dunno, don't worry about it," Bobby adds quietly. "Lets just go get some bacon and pretend this never happened."

* * *

"You had to show them up that badly?" Enra complains.

"Of course, not only did they insult me, but they took it so far as to insult my friend as well," Fate grumbles walking even faster. "I understand that humans aren't fond of him, but these rumors take it to far."

"You know how humans are; you are one after all," Enra adds with a sigh. "We fear what we can't explain."

"Yes, either fear or worship it," Fate states with a sigh. "I don't understand why there is such a difference."

"There always has to be something to take the blame," Enra adds. "Your friend rules over the Nether; a place most people view as a living hell, and unlike the gods he rarely appears in public."

"So because something never shows up you fear it," Fate grumbles sarcastically. "What worthy reasons we humans come up with."

"This is hard for you... isn't it?" Enra asks, sending Fate a sympathetic glance . "Not everyone believes the rumors you know."

"I know," Fate replies with a sigh. "I'm just a little annoyed at the moment."

"Don't let those two get to your head," Enra adds with a smile. "You took their ego down a block or two."

"I would hope so," Fate replies with a smirk. "This world doesn't need anymore arrogant humans; they have enough already !"

"I couldn't agree more!" Enra adds with a laugh, " Looks like we're almost to the mountain... Why did you put the Nether portal inside a mountain again?"

"Various sounds from the connected dimension tend to echo through the portal and into this world," Fate replies with a shrug. "Most people seem to find the sounds creepy, and I didn't want to disturb anyone."

Something began to emerge from the woods and Enra's mouth began to open into a scream. A human figure; only made completely out of darkness. Fate instantly jumps in front of Enra and stands completely silent; watching the being with cold glaring eyes. The shadowy creature begins to smirk and it moves closer to the two girls.

"Enra," Fate begins slowly. "You need to trust me."

"I... I... I trust you," Enra answers in horror. "What...what is that thing?"

"You need to run," Fate commands, gripping the handles of the two swords that she keeps on her belt. "Don't look back, and don't question my command."

"But... but.. but I can't just leave you alone," Enra cries out backing away.

The creature suddenly swipes its claw at the younger girl and Fate blocks the impact with her arm. Enra let's out a scream as the blood begins to drip from the deep cut on the older girls arm. Fate turns around with an un-human quickness and screams, "run."

Enra began to flee down the pathway and quickly vanishes into a row of trees; not looking back once. Fate grabs ahold of her twin obsidian blades and takes up a defensive position against the shadowy creature.

"It has been so long," the Shadow growls slowly walking around the girl. "Hasn't it... Fate."

* * *

**On a totally random note I also posted another story called Death Threats. :/ no idea why this is down here... Yup... Also feel free to ask me or the characters questions in a review or PM and I will answer them in the Author Notes of the next chapter. Now I really want to do this -**

**-Infinity :D (I dunno, i just wanted to) **


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey guys :D wow it's Ch. 20 but I fell like I just started this yesterday... it's nowhere near over of course but I felt like celebrating anyways. So just another reminder that I will be away on vacation next week and MAY be unable to post all week. (Depends if I have Internet access) Thanks for all the support and we return to normal reality next chapter. So it's almost time to deal with the nuke! Everyone: NOOOOOOOOoooooo...**

* * *

"It has been so long," the Shadow growls slowly walking around the girl. "Hasn't it... Fate."

"What do you want?" Fate questions with an accusing glare, "Nothing good, I would suppose."

"Quick to the point," it growls with a complementary tone. "A worthy trait for someone of your... social standards. Probably kept you alive all these years."

"What's that suppose to mean," Fate hisses through her teeth. "Now stop evading the subject; tell me what you want, and how you know my name."

"Patience my dear, all will be revealed in due time," the Shadow states slyly. "You'll have to be patient if it is answers you seek."

"Fine," Fate growls.

"I know a lot about you Fate," the creature growls. "In fact, I know you better than you know yourself."

"Why are you here and how do you know about me," Fate questions again. "Skip this foolish small talk."

"I am unable to tell you exactly how I have come across the information, but I could explain why I have stopped you." The Shadow replies with a grin.

Fate just nods silently and tries to stand as straight as possible. Blood drops down her arm from a large cut, and its become obvious that she didn't have much time left to argue. 'Get the info, decide if I should kill this thing, return to the Nether, and tell Herobrine of this immediately.' She lets out a slight sigh and returns her glare toward the Shadow.

"Why haven't you run away like the other girl?" It questions with a calculating smile. "I bet you could have reached that town by now if you really tried."

"You would have killed her," Fate explains with a frown. "If I had run then she would be dead."

"Oh don't be so critical my dear," the Shadow adds. "Do you want to know why I'm here?"

"Of course i do,"Fate answers. "But i already have a guess."

"Really?" The dark figure asks, "so why do you think I'm here?"

"You want revenge on the gods for trying to have you removed all those years ago," Fate answers."

"It is true that we want revenge against the gods. Are you familiar with the Hero project?" The Shadow asks monitoring the girls expression."I assume you are; being friends with Notch's brother and all."

"How does this connect to you wanting revenge on the gods," Fate questions with a scowl. "It's very off topic."

"You will see," the creature growls. "The Hero project was in initiative brought to the gods attention many years ago. You see, as the human population began to appear many of them were quickly killed off by mobs or various natural causes. So a few of the gods created a project known as: The Hero Project."

"Yes and that pretty common knowledge nowadays," Fate adds with a sigh. "Anything actually useful you want to tell me?"

"When taking revenge into account, you must consider every aspect of the situation," the Shadow explains with a smirk. "So why would we fight the gods if we could trick the humans into doing it instead?"

"Trick the humans... are you insane?" Fate questions in shock. "We both know that would never work."

"Currently, the plan would fail," it adds in agreement. "However if we were to take one piece out of the puzzle, then everything would fall into place."

"One piece?" Fate questions, "what do you mean by that?"

"Think of this as a block of TNT," the Shadow explains. "The gunpowder and the fire are both exceedingly dangerous elements. A thin sheet of paper usually separates the two, but if that paper is removed from the equation..."

"The whole thing goes sky high," Fate murmurs quietly. "Everything falls apart."

"You're like the paper," the creature explains. "If removed Herobrine (the fire) will attempt to destroy the humans,(gunpowder) but the humans are strong and everything will go down with a bang. Now, how do you think we reacted when we learned that you were in the Overworld without your demi god friend? It's the perfect way to remove you from the situation."

"Who says I plan on dying," Fate growls. "Besides Herobrine wouldn't try and kill the humans; I'm one after all."

"That's where the Hero project comes in," the Shadow explains with an evil laugh. "He won't attack humanity without a given reason, but with a good reason it won't be hard to provoke."

"You won't be able to convince him," she growls as her head slowly tilts to the right from blood loss. "He's wont listen to you."

"Which is why you are going to convince him instead," it growls taking another swipe at the girl.

Fate lunges out of the reach of the shadowy claws, but something plunges through her back. The girl slowly falls to the ground as the black claw slides out of her chest. Blood clots her white cloak as she begins cling to consciousness.

"This could have been much simpler," the Shadow adds, removing the blood from its sword. "If only you would have helped us."

"I... I- never... would help...you," Fats sputters clutching her swords. "Even... even-if... it...meant I had to..."

"I'm sorry it had to come to this Fate," the creature adds. "You see we don't need you alive to convince him. All we need is you dead and a human to blame."

"Wh...y are you... pl-ease... please...don't ...for the sake of everyone... please," she pleads,"don't...blame- the...humans.."

"It's to late now," the Shadow cackles. "Don't worry, I picked a very... special human to blame. Can you take a guess as to whom I'm addressing?"

"No..." she murmurs. "You... you- don't mean..."

"Makes it all the worth of course," the creature states with a smirk. "To place the blame on the only other person who can protect your pitiful race. So that your last thoughts have to be about how you not only caused your own death, but the death of the only person who could have possibly saved them! The first hero; the supposed savior of the humans is going to die because of you!"

"No..." Fate mutters, reaching for her sword a few feet away. "I... won't... let..."

"Enjoy your last moments," the creature adds, dropping a human-made stones word next to her. "You were very useful to our cause, but all things lose their usefulness eventually."

"That's...your... mistake," Fate growls as the white light clots out her vision. "I'm... not... dead...yet."

The Shadow whips around and looks back at the dying girl. Its cold black eyes bolt in horror as he reaches a realization; she was programming a prophecy.

"Death... will come," she growls quickly. " 1000 years... he will return... I will fix the mistakes... the Shadows will fall... the truth will be revealed... light will prevail... the prophecy of Infinity will arise... and heroes will come from either side... days of darkness will fade away... then mobs will join with increasing rage... in 1000 years he will return... so will I, and the land will re-learn... you can no longer win this battle... even with me gone..."

"No! You fool!" It growls lunging for the girl. However her eyes close for the last time, and a glowing light plunges into the earth; the prophecy was accepted. "We underestimated your strength human, not even in the worst case scenarios were you still able to cast that a spell of that capacity."

"I have to go now of course," the creature growls. "Just because you will return, doesn't mean that the present will be any different. The hero still dies and your friend is still the one to do it. You think by returning in 1000 years you can fix all the mistakes you have made, but instead you will only make this worse. You may be the best of us my dear, but your betrayal will only deepen your guilt."

* * *

The figure stares at the body lying on the ground; 'Gone... fates gone...' His face shows no emotion other than complete and utter shock. Some of the more trust worthy mobs watch their Lord with pained expressions and sad gazes. Whatever was to come next could not be good...

"Oh ... no ... my... my Lord... I am... I am so sorry," the creeper stutters as the demi god stares at the remains of his only friend. "I don't understand; she was gone for such a short while..."

"How... how did... how did she die?" The enderman questions in confusion, "not many humans could actually stand up to her in a duel; much less kill her."

The skeletons stand in defensive position around their master in case whatever had done this came back. Some of the more intelligent mobs watch in fear and worry; how would the master take this?

"…Brother," a voice states behind him. "So she really is dead."

"Lord Notch," a few of the mobs gasp and break formation. "We are not sure what has happend, but..."

"Why weren't you here?" Herobrine growls sharply, "why wast I here? Why was no one here?"

The demi god turns around slowly and most of the mobs slink back in fear. White eyes glare with pain and anger.

"There is no one to be angry at," Notch adds meeting the blank gaze. "You cannot pin this on anyone."

"I'm not pinning this on anyone," he states blankly. "This is all my fault."

"Wait... what!" Notch says suddenly spinning around. "I didn't want you to go on a killing spree of your army because you blames the mobs! It's not your fault she's dead little brother!"

"I should have been here," he growls kicking a stone object aside. "Why wasn't I here... she would be alive then! It's my fault she's dead, because I wasn't here to help her!"

"It's not your fault Hero!" Notch says. "You didn't know what was going to happen!"

"Leave," Herobrine growls and walks away, "just go away and move on with your life. You don't have time to deal with me this. You never really cared anyways."

"I care plenty," Notch yells at the insult. "Your my brother dude, and I know I haven't exactly been there for you but I'm trying to help you right now!"

"Brothers don't leave the other in hell for twelve years," Herobrine growls and turns away.

"I didn't know you hated it there," Notch counters. "You always seemed fine with it."

"Yeah," Herobrine growls with an edge. "I turned out... just...fine."

"What's wrong with you," Notch questions. "I've never seen you like this before. I mean you've always been kinda moody, but ..."

"It would be best if you left now," Herobrine adds, and kneels down to examine the stone object he kicked earlier.

"Not until I know what's up," Notch refuses. "Your not telling me something, and brothers don't lie to each other!"

"This is a human weapon," Herobrine mutters slowly, and flexes the sword in his hand. "A human weapon... at the place where she died..."

"Hero, I don't think that's possible," Notch adds. "You should go calm down before you make any accusations you can't prove."

"It was a human," he growls gazing at the name carves into the swords hilt. "S...te...v...e..."

"There's no evidence to prove that," Notch stutters after hearing the name. 'The first hero was suppose to be names Steve, but surely this couldn't be the same one."

Herobrine takes a long glance at a wooden cabin about two hundred blocks down. He looks from the house to Notch, and then back to the house again. The sign above the door reads: Steve's House -come right on in!

"I'm going to take your advice," Herobrine growls thoughtfully. "I'll calm down before I make accusations I can't prove."

"Ok... well um... you do that," Notch replies awkwardly. "I'll head back to the Aether and... find something to work on."

The god leaves after a long glance at his younger brother. A few daring mobs slowly inch their way toward their Lord. Herobrine keeps staring at the house while gripping the stone sword in his hand. 'Accusations I can't prove..."

"I want all mobs assembled for a meeting immediately," Herobrine commands. "Do not alert any gods of these actions and assemble quickly."

"My Lord," a blaze questions. "What is your plan."

Herobrine smirks and replys, "all in good time."

'This will have to burn. They will have to burn. Humanity must pay for their mistakes. I couldn't be here to help you, but I can take revenge against those we caused this.'

* * *

"So everything has fallen into place," the Shadow growls. "Wonderful."

"The girl will still return in 1000 years though," a second creature adds. "How will we react then?"

"We miscalculated her abilities," the first Shadow explains. "However her prophecy has one simple mistake."

"A mistake," the second questions. "What sort of mistake?"

"The prophecy says that she will return shortly after the first hero," it growls. "Bit is either of the two dies then the prophecy is destroyed, and the other will vanish as well."

"So if Steve or Fate dies," the second creature says carefully. "Then so is the prophecy and the other person."

"Exactly."


	21. Chapter 21

**Sorry** **about**** the delay you guys, but I managed to catch a cold while on vacation and... yeah very delirious at the moment. So I will try and post at least once this week, but my week is going to be extremely busy. :) should be back on schedule by next monday. Sorry about the delay, hope you like the chapter.**

* * *

I leap to my feet and run down the hall ignoring the protests of several mobs. There was an explosion... pain burns up and down my bloodstream, and i force myself to keep moving. 'This couldn't possibly mean the Aether had actually fallen! Right? Why did i feel like I was dying? Was the first hero injured? Why would he be injured... was he in the Aether when it exploded?' A few ghasts try to attack, but I block their fire with my obsidian blades. Something yells out a cry of alarm, but I keep running toward the main hall. I thrust the door open and spot Zz monitoring a broken portal.

"The Aether," I yell knocking a group of zombie pigmen out of my way. "Oh Notch... pls no..."

"Fate!" Zz asks in surprise, "calm down I don't think you understand whats going on."

"It's gone," I growl causing a group of mobs to yelp in surprise. "I know Zz, I heard the explosion!"

"That's not possible," Zz exclaims quickly. "We're two dimensions away. You must have imagined it."

"Reignite that portal then" I command pointing to the glowstone mass. "Prove that it's still there."

"I... that's not possible..." Zz stutters. "Please Fate, just return to your quarters."

"You want to know one thing I learned from Herobrine," I state moving my gaze from one face to another. "Being a living coward is worse then dying in the first place. So you stay here and hide in the protection of this fortress, but I'm going to either help them or die again trying!"

"I would reconsider that opinion," a ghast howls. "Not only are you human, but you are also a fool."

I smile at the white squid and reply, "wouldn't want it any other way."

"You can't enter the portal," Zz states. "The connection was destroyed when the Aether..."

"I know," I reply calmly. "Zz I need to find something in the fortress."

"Of course," Zz agrees slowly. "Follow me. Everyone else maintain defensive positions, and await my return."

Pain is running up my arm and I grimace at the burning. 'Its not Herobrine I have to help. He can survive a Nuke, but that human can't... So this is what he's feeling only a few million times worse...'

"Where would Herobrine store items of great importance?" I question Zz quietly as the mobs return to their duties.

"All wealth is kept in the treasury," Zz states simply before pausing. "However I would guess you mean more along the lines of something more important... try the old training hall."

"Aren't you coming with me," I reply quickly. "I thought you were going to help me?"

"Fate," the elderly blaze adds with a sigh. "If you are looking for that object I can only assume that there must be reasons. However, the mobs need commanding while Lord Herobrine is gone. Besides, if you don't save the human were all screwed again."

I try to hide my surprise but Zz already knows he's right. All I can do is nod and run down the hallway. Ice seeps into my blood and I can sense death lingering around me. 'Move faster or everything you've worked for will fall apart. You wait 1000 years to return and then are killed because the human died!' All of the mobs are in defensive positions, and almost no one is still within the fortress. The hallways eventually end, and the only way to continue is through an ancient iron door.

Pushing the door open, I walk into the old training hall and glance around. From the looks of it no one has been here in a thousand years, but a small pathway is already carved through the spider webs. 'So someone was here rather recently...'

In the back if the room is an old wooden chest. I carefully remove the lid of the storage and take a glance inside. Two swords lay side by side in the bottom; one stone and the other a strange silver metal. Dust dulls the sheen of both blades, and I grasp the stone one. 'The blade that the Shadows left at my side.' The silver sword shines in the dull glowstone light, and I carefully tuck the stone sword into my inventory before picking up the silver one. The word Wolf is carved onto the side of the blade, and my first instinct is to place it back in the chest. I flip the sword over and notice another symbol on the back; the infinity mark.

'Why would this blade have that marking?' More words run down the handle and I reluctantly study the symbols.

"A blade forged through combining Magic and Science. Only when the enemy's stand as on one side will the world fall. A blade to assist the weak and counter those with power," I mutter and read aloud the inscription. "This was made for the first hero..."

'A blade like this could possibly kill a god if in the right hands... a demi god die even easier.'

"This blade was supposed to be given to the first hero," I state slowly. "This is the only way to set things right... There's no way he could even match Herobrine in a fight without it."

'So now you're giving this random a human a weapon that could kill your best friend? Yeah! That's a GREAT idea...'

"Weird huh," I add with a sigh and take a last glance at the Nether. "Time to go."

Everything begins to turn white, and I pull the swords with me as I slip into the Void. Well I didn't plan on dying, but I have to help the human If I want to get back.

Everything spins as I stand back onto me feet. The white light is circling, and it clots out my vision on either side. I try to scream for help but the roaring of explosions drown out any noise. This is what it's like to die huh... almost feels familiar. Everything seems to light on fire before an icy cold falls over me. 'I think that the nuke went off...'

Masses of swirling grey start to swerve through the white light, and I find myself moving towards them. 'That's the Void right? I go there when I die.' Everything is gone now, and I walk towards the grey willingly. Memories start to filter into my head and I find myself growing confused. I only spawned about a month ago, but some of the memory's are from my childhood.

"Maria said that I was a recantation of the first hero," I mutter curiously. "These might be from my past life."

Everything seems to flash by, and I only catch a few details. The memory's slow down when I reach a large mountain. There's a figure standing at the peak, but everything is to hazy to see the details. I walk closer, but a hand clamps around my wrist and pulls me out of my imagination.

The grey fog lunges towards me, but the hand pulls away and runs for the white. I follow in pursuit and notice a silvery figure fleeing beside me. "Who are you," I question the girl as we flee. "Are you dead to?"

"We're not dead yet," she laughs and turns her head towards me. "I'm afraid we don't have time for formal introductions though."

"Where are we exactly," I ask and notice a glowing light in the distance. "What's that?"

"No time to explain," she yells and hands me a sword. "You can't show this to anyone, but there will soon be a battle where you will need it."

"A battle?" I question in confusion, "I thought I was already dead?"

"Not dead," she laughs. "Severely injured and on the brink of it, but not quite dead. You'll know when to use the Blade, but don't use it unless it is time. Just remember that there are reasons to kill, and reasons to leave people alive."

"What do you mean?" I question as the glowing white light begins to block out the fog. "What battle, and who the heck are you?"

"I will see you soon," the girl calls out. "Remember my warning."

Tyler watches the explosion carefully. The three heroes and himself had jumped over the side of the dimension, and landed in the middle of the ocean. Everyone looks up at the fiery inferno with looks of fear and worry on their faces.

"I'm sure their fine," Tyler mutters. "They'll be landing any moment now."

"Don't worry," the hero with a katana adds. "The Enderborn family has always been rather resilient to nukes... or at least that's what I have heard anyways."

The red headed demi god looks back in confusion, but his head snaps upward upon noticing something. Herobrine slams into the water, but resurfaces within a second of impact. Notch slows down his falling speed, and slowly drop into the ocean. Tyler glances around for the others, but soon realizes that two people are missing.

"Where's Maria and Steve," he yells out, fear working its way into his voice. "They went after you... why aren't they here!"

"The girl and that human were jumping behind us," Herobrine replies blankly. "They might not have jumped before the explosion went off."

"I'm sure Maria will be fine," the hero with a dart gun answers. "But If the human didn't jump..."

There's another round of explosions before another figure hits the water. The impact causes a large wave to speed out towards

the group, and Herobrine curses under his breath at the water. Tyler swims towards the area and looks around for his older sister. For a few moments everything goes silent, but her head soon breaks the surface.

"Maria," Tyler yells and gives her a brotherly hug. "You had me worried because you didn't come down with the others, and then I thought you might have died. Then I realized that probably couldn't kill you, but i was still worried. Oh, and where's Steve. Is he coming down soon?"

"The- explosion," she stutters. "Tripped... I tried to help, but- explosion..."

"You mean he-," Tyler gasps in shock.

Another figure hits the water and the two jump back in horror. Maria watches for a moment and then dives under the water. Tyler yells for her to come back up, but shes already fifty blocks under. She breaks the surface again a few moments later and is trying to pull someone along with her.

"The human actually survived the explosion," Herobrine questions casually. "That's quite unusual."

"Hey guys," the hero with the golden sword call out. "Don't want to ruin the moment, but I think we have a problem." He looks down through the murky blue water at the dark shapes. "Squid attack."

"Your kidding me," Notch growls unhappily. "We don't have time for this!"

"Everyone in a circle," says a raspy voice. "This sushi can't pick us off one by one if we are together. "I won't be able to help, but I'll do my best to warn you of any attacks."

Steve sits up and tries to stay afloat on his own. Maria looks on in shock as he tries to grasp a sword. "You're alive," she mutters. "How did you survive the blast?"

"I followed a white light, and ended up here," Steve lies. "How long was I unconscious for?"

"Not to long," Maria replies with a shrug. "Aether exploded adew moments ago."

Steve smiles and adds," this is the easy part. It's only going to get harder from here."


	22. Chapter 22

**Mesa back from vacation :) I managed to post once, but ultimately I failed REALLY REALLY REALLY badly. Sorry my vacation went from being 'a nice relaxing trip' to 'no spare time at all' I am now more exhausted from vacationing then I am from my usual life...Anyways to make up for it I will attempt to post at least one EXTRA chapter this week. Sorry about not posting but I will be back on schedule very shortly. Also for the OCs i have recieved but not yet placed within the story. (I am no longer accepting them because I actually have to many now XD) I have picked out how they are coming in, but some will not enter until part three. **

* * *

"So, were up against squids," Herobrine grumbles unhappily. "Not the most dangerous of enemies. More of a pest or annoyance than something of true danger..."

"Speak for yourself," the hero with the golden sword yells back. "Squids are the most awful creature in all of Minecraft! They are my mortal enemy!"

"Why don't you like squids?" Tyler asks with a frown, "you don't like sushi?"

Maria turns to silence her brother, but decides against it. A few of the squids begin to seep through the ocean towards our group, and multiple people glare at the dark water. I try to keep myself on top of the water, and find it remarkably easy to stay afloat. Somehow I managed to get through the explosion with minor injuries, but Maria doesn't look as unscathed. Her gaze is wavering, and she keeps slipping deeper into the water. Tyler on the other hand, appears to be wide awake, and is the first to swipe his sword into the water. Something grabs at my foot, and all of a sudden I'm underwater. Kicking out with my foot, I force my way back to the surface, and gasp for air.

Maria kicks at one of the squids and yells, "how many of these things are there!"

"They're basically infinite," the hero with the golden sword growls, and thrusts his blade into a group of the shadowy creatures. "As long as we're here then there will be more."

"I could cast a lightning spell," Notch adds and glances around at the group. "However we would need everyone out of the water." He frowns a little and glances at the water. "I don't think we want to be electrocuted..."

There's a large roaring noise as a group of large machines suddenly drops below the cloud cover. The squids immediately turn toward the planes and try to attack them. I smile when the logo comes into view: Sky Army. One of the planes lands on the water, and three more follow its lead. The door opens up and reveals a familiar face.

"Looks like you guys need a lift," Kato calls out and extends his hand. "We'll take care if the squid problem."

Tyler swims over and helps Maria onto the main plane. The three heroes climb on next, and Notch follows shortly after. I follow Tyler onto the large blimp and Herobrine grumbles about not needing any help, but ultimately climbs on.

The plane lifts into the air, and everyone is thrown backwards into the seating area. Herobrine casts some sort of spell, and the ocean below glows a bright white. A few people look on in horror, but slowly return to their posts as the squids bodies float to the surface.

"Ok," Kato states and sits down in the pilot seat. "I don't know some of you, and I should introduce myself." He motions to the ship, and waits for the others to sit down. "My name is Kato, current commander of the Sky Army, and captain if this fleet."

"I'm Notch," Notch adds casually and, most of the crew gasps in shock. "Creator of Minecraft, and main god of Minecraft."

"Herobrine," the white eyed man adds with a sigh. "Name tends to say it all."

"I do believe I introduced myself," Maria adds. "My name is Maria, and this is my younger brother Tyler." She nods to Tyler and leans back in her chair. "Demi gods, and descendants of the Yogcast generation."

"Steve..." I add calmly. "I don't really have an important title."

"Right," Kato adds and turns toward the three heroes. "Now, who are you three?"

The three heroes shift slightly in their seats and shoot careful glances at each other. One of them shakes their head and let's out a sigh. "You may call me R," the man with the Katana adds quietly. "And she is named Z. At least for the time being." Z casts a careful glance at Maria and Tyler before nodding silently.

"I don't think that's your name," Kato adds. "Whatever it's something to call you by... and who's the third one?"

"You might have heard of me," the man with the golden sword states with a smile and pulls back the hood of his cloak. "I go by Sky."

Kato's mouth drops open, and the crew members instantly bolt toward Sky. The hero looks up with a smile, but quickly jumps to evade the oncoming group of recruits. Our group watches the reunion in confusion until R explains,"Sky was the founder of the Sky Army."

A few people let out nods of understanding, and wait for the reunion to finish up. Kato moves out of his chair and walks over towards us. "Do you have anywhere to stay?" Ha adds quietly. "We could drop you off just about anywhere."

"There's and old fort located in the eastern mountain range just along the water," Notch replies. "It was set up as a refuge for the gods if something like this was to happen, and any survivors would have worked their way there."

"I guess we'll head there then," Kato adds and turns for the door. The handle turns and a little girl with cropped black hair creeps in. "Sasha I told you to wait in your room-"

"Uncle Sky," Sasha squeals and runs to give the hero a hug. "You're back!"

"You humans reunions are foolish," Herobrine mutters with a sigh. "We are going to war, and it is likely most, if not all of you will likely die."

"Let them say their goodbyes then," I add quietly. "It would be better for them to not know that this is their last time they will see each other. At least this way they can be happy together one last time, and not be held down by the knowledge of their impedimg death." Herobrine snaps his head towards me and stares for a few moments with a mixture of anger, unhappiness, and remembrance. However within an instant his expression flips back to neutral and he looks away. 'Well that was weird...'

"We will be landing in ten minutes," states the loud-speaker. "Please prepare for landing."

Fate stumbles back to her feet when the training arena fades back into view. She casts a quick glance at her hand and smiles a little when she sees that the iron sword is no longer in her possession. 'So I got it to the hero...' The door opens as Zz walks into the room. Zz walks toward the girl and kneels down beside her.

"So you were successful in getting the hero his blade," Zz adds. "You know of the blades power, correct?' Fate nods silently and focuses on healing herself. "So you also know the dangers of giving that human that weapon..."

"I know," Fate stutters quietly. "But I have to set this right, because it was my fault. Without that blade the hero won't stand a chance in battle against Herobrine, and if he dies then I won't be able to fix anything. I came back to fix my mistakes, and he died because of me. It's my duty to fix this, and I can't let my own feelings get in the way."

"I doubt you plan on letting either of them die," Zz replies. "If the hero dies then so do you, and if Herobrine dies the prophecy is destroyed. However the two will fight it out eventually, and when they do I hope you have a plan."

"It's not exactly a plan," Fate adds with a smile. "More of an idea that really needs to work."

Maria slowly walks through the large underground hallway. Her foot had apparently been burned in the explosion, and she had suffered severely from the radiation. She growls a little when she spots Tyler running towards her through the cavern. "Tyler I'm fine," Maria growls and try's to evade her brother. "It's just a few minor injuries; I don't need crutches!"

Tyler frowns and replies, "I know, you already told me that. That wasn't what I was going to ask anyways!"

"Ok," Maria adds slowly. "Then what do you need to ask me?"

"We can't talk here," Tyler whispers with an exasperated sigh. "It's about the job."

The two carefully navigate down the maze of hallways, and into a courtyard located under the bunker. "What is this all about?" Maria questions and leans over to carefully rub her injured foot. "I'm suppose to stay off this foot, and walking here for no reason is not the best idea."

"You need to train him," Tyler says and glances at his sister. "He won't give up after coming so far, and without proper training he's going to get himself killed."

"Training who?" Maria questions with a groan, "Tyler it's to early to ask rhetorical questions."

"Steve," Tyler growls. "Who else would I be talking about? Instincts alone isn't going to get him through this war."

"I'll try," Maria states and stops running her foot. "It will be hard while I'm recovering though."

"Thanks," Tyler adds and turns to sniff the air. "I think they have cake in the cafeteria!"

Maria laughs as he speeds out of the clearing in pursuit of dessert, and focuses back on her own thoughts. She walks back into the bunker and looks for some of the others. Stripes and Mark had chosen to stay with the Sky Army for the time being, but Kato had joined them; followed by his younger sister Sasha. Even though she missed Stripes and Mark, she had the feeling they would meet again soon. Turning the corner she notices Steve sitting in the cafeteria with a few other members. Maria sits down next to Tyler who shoves multiple exotic desserts in her face.

"They have cake!" He yells through a mouthful of cake, and continues to eat. "Have some!"

She just shrugs, picks up a plain piece of vanilla cake and sets it on front of herself. Kato and Sasha are sitting a few tables down deep in discussion with Sky. Apricot and Brendan are quietly picking away at a peice. Maria sighs when she notices the absence again. 'Syque didn't survive the battle.' For a second the pain flashes across her face, but she hides it. 'Now, where is Steve?' She glances around for a moment before a voice snaps into her attention.

"You are looking for that human correct?" Herobrine questions.

"Yes," Maria replies stiffly. "I'm looking for him... why do you care?"

"He reminds me of someone I knew," Herobrine answers thoughtfully. "A long... long time ago."

The girl instantly begins to freak out, but forces herself to return to a neutral expression. 'Maybe he hasn't figured out who Steve is. There has to be something else, and how would he have figured it out anyways?' She turns around and adds, "that information is not particularly useful at the moment."

"No I suppose its not," Herobrine replies. "I think he was here a few hours ago, but I'm not completely sure."

"Maria," states Z. "I think he went to the training hall a little while ago."

She turns around and spots Z standing in the doorway, and pointing down the hallway. Maria quickly walks towards the hero and glances down the hallway. "Here, I can show you how to get there," Z adds and starts moving down the hallway." For some reason both Z and R had chosen to keep their dark cloaks on and hide their true identities.

"That's alright," Maria answers and tries to walk down the hallway. "I can find it by myself."

"You don't know where it is though," Z argues and follows the girl. "Besides, you can get there faster if I show you how to get there, and with time so limited nowadays you need to use as much as you can."

Maria tries to argue but ends up following the cloaked woman down the maze of hallways. 'I don't trust them... if they don't want to reveal their identity then they have something to hide. Better keep a close eye on both of them...' The hallway ends as Z opens up the large metal doors, and walks into then large training hall.

The door opens behind me as Maria and Z enter the room. I turn around in surprise and walk over to say hello. Maria quickly says goodbye to Z and waves.

"Looks like your out of the hospital," I state as Z moves into m

ort of worried about you even though you weren't going to die..."

"Everyone's making a big deal out of nothing," Maria complains. "It wasn't much more than a little burn, and a bit if radiation. In all honesty I was worried more about you then myself. I can survive a nuke blast with minor injuries, but I don't understand how you walked away from this unscathed."

"I'm not really sure myself," I reply honestly. "There was this glowing light and I followed it. When I woke up I had already crashed down in the ocean."

"Well whatever it was," Maria adds with a smile. "You get to live on another day."

"True," I reply thoughtfully. "I get to live another day filled with war and death." Maria frowns at this answer, so I smile and add, "nowhere else I'd rather be."

"Along the lines of the war," Maria begins. "You need to learn how to fight."

"I know how to fight," I reply honestly. "I need to learn how to fight even better than I do now."

"Ok," Maria adds and grabs twin stone blades from the wall. " I'll show you the basics and we can move on from there."

I walk over and scan the wall for decent swords. The silver sword I received in my dream is still in my inventory, but I doubt this is the time or place to use it. The walls of the training hall hold just about every weapon that has ever existed within Minecraft. Finally I decide on a simple iron blade and return to Maria. Z is talking with her, and I notice that Maria doesn't seem to like the hero at all. The door slowly opens, but when I glance at the entrance no one is there. Maria notices me and nods to one of the wool dummies.

"Try attacking it," She adds when I glance back in confusion.

Nodding, I grasp the iron sword and run towards my blade slices through what would be a persons spine and cleanly cuts the wool in two. Maria looks on in silence before stating, "well I suppose you can skip the basics..." I nod and look into the shadows near the edges of the hall. Something stares straight back at me and for a second memories start flooding my mind. When I blink again the memories are gone, but the eyes are still there.

* * *

**Who are the eyes? Well you probably all know this one... I would also like to admit that the main antagonist of this story is technically in the story, but has not been shown as the main bad person...yet... It's the person you are least expecting :3 I will be amazed if anyone guesses him/her. Also thanks for 5000 views you guys :) this is sort of a 'take all my favorite Minecraft characters, shove them in a story, and see what happens' kind of story, but I actually really like how it's turning out. Thanks again... now I have to go write an extra chapter for Tuesday or Wednesday. *o_o***


	23. Chapter 23

**Hey guys, sorry about the MAJOR wait. When I got back from vacation I was super excited to write another chapter, and I had chapter 23 all typed out and fancy. Then on Tuesday I logged on to post it and found out that my computer deleted it while I was asleep. So I was going to rewrite it and post when I got back from school. Well I have the absolute worst luck possible, and end up coming down with a bad stomach bug. So my wednesday and thursday were spent half delirious and... well vomiting -_- and then my parents took my computer away because i needed to sleep. Then on friday I finnaly got my computer back and had to write a chapter, and do three days worth of homework and classwork. That was my wonderful week of wonderfulness... I'm super sorry about the wait, but I really wasn't expecting to come down sick. I tried to make this chapter extra long for you guys cause I feel really bad about the delay. Sorry about that you guys.**

* * *

(About 1005 years ago)

Notch watches with a concerned expression as the mobs race around to put out the various fires. In the middle of the room is the exploded remains of a twelve tier birthday cake. A twelve year old Herobrine looks on with a smile, and walks through the doorway towards his older brother. Notch sighs as another wave of TnT goes off, blasting half of the cake remains against the walls of the room.

"Only the kitchen this time?" Herobrine questions with a cocky grin, "last time you tried to cook the entire fortress exploded."

"Well its not a complete failure then," Notch sighs and shakes his head. "Your birthday cake is done... sort of."

The birthday boy laughs and replies, "do I get to eat it?"

"Only if you want to," Notch sighs and glances back at the charred remains of the cake. "It was burned pretty bad, and might be radioactive..."

"It's perfect then," Herobrine adds with a smirk. "Did you get me a present?"

"Of course," Notch replies, happy to get off the subject of the cake. "It's even better than last years gift!"

"I would hope so," Herobrine sighs. "Last year your 'party balloons' tried to kill me. "

"Well at least ghasts are a good addition to Nether mobs," Notch agrees. "This gift won't try to kill you though."

"Horribly disfigured then?" The kid questions with a smirk, "like when your present was a pig..."

"I was actually trying that time," Notch groans at the mention of another failure. When he had tried to place things in the Nether they would usually become distorted. "You never get me anything a for my birthday. In fact, you don't even come and visit on my birthday."

"That isn't my fault," Herobrine argues and looks at Notch with cold white eyes. "I'm not aloud to leave the Nether."

"Oh yeah..." Notch mutters, "I bet you can't guess what I got you this year."

"Is it explosive?" Herobrine questions curiously, "or fire resistant? Can it be used as a weapon?"

"No, no, and ...yes... but still no," Notch explains and shakes his head. "Like I would get you anything dangerous!"

"What did you get me then?" The twelve year old asks with wide eyed excitement.

"I know how you used to love going to the Overworld when you were younger," Notch explains. "However, I don't really have time to take you anymore, but I realized that you must be getting really lonely. So I'm going to bring a group of humans to live in the Nether!"

"You're going to bring humans here?" Herobrine questions cautiously and glances around, "don't you think they'll be freaked out by the lava or the whole 'this is hell' thing?"

"Nope, they'll be fine," Notch adds with a cheeky grin. "I'm sure of it!"

* * *

"Well that went well," Notch mutters as some of the blazes scrape blood of the flooring. "Only twenty of them died in the first hour, and only twelve tried to kill you. So still better than last year." Mission, force Herobrine to make friends has ended in a complete failure...

"They tried to kill me," Herobrine sighs unhappily.

"I'm sure it's nothing personal," Notch adds reassuringly. "They probably just saw your eyes and thought you were a demon or something."

"Thanks, that makes me feel way better,"Herobrine grumbles and walks away. "I'm going to the training hall."

"It's your birthday," Notch complains. "Can't you at least stick around for the party?"

The twelve year old shakes his head and walks down the Nether fortress hallway. Notch sighs and glances back at the mobs cleaning the blood off of the floor. About twelve of the humans had tried to kill Herobrine the second they arrived, and another nine or ten had 'accidentally' fallen into lava. Out of the original twenty four he was guessing that about three of them were still alive, but it was unlikely they would last another hour. The humans who attacked his brother were dead of course, and he had made sure of that himself. Then again, bringing humans to the Nether probably wasn't the best idea in the first place...

"Lord Notch," one of the blazes reports suddenly. "One human has managed to survive. Should we kill it immediately?"

"Which one is still alive?" Notch asks with a sigh.

"The youngest one," the blaze replies. "The new spawn girl."

"How did she survive?" Notch states in confusion, "the group was made up of mostly twenty to thirty year olds who grew up in Minecraft, but the untrained twelve year old new spawn just happens to survives. How did this happen?"

"I'm not sure," the blaze comments quietly. "Beginners luck?"

"I don't believe I'm luck," Notch grumbles and walks into the fortress. "Which way did she go?"

"She left for the training hall shortly before the humans tried to attack," the blaze explains. "Isn't Lord Herobrine there as well?"

Notch sighs and begins walking towards the training hall. Well he had accidentally ruined Herobrine's birthday for the fifth year in row. Next time the gift won't be as dangerous... like a creeper or something. He frowns at the thought of a mutant creature and continues down the hallway.

* * *

Herobrine sighs as he listens to the mobs patrolling the fortress. His brothers 'gifts' were usually given with good intentions, but never actually worked. At first he thought that this year might be a little different, because humans were the closest thing to his race other than other gods, but it was clear they didn't view it that way. Sighing, the twelve year old tries to focus back on the block of netherrack in front of him. 'If Notch can do it so can I...' The block starts to change and he loses focus, causing the block to return to normal.

"Come on," Herobrine says with a sigh, and resorts to breaking the block with his fist instead. "Every time I try to change the code I get kicked right back out again."

"What are you trying to do?" A voice asks curiously.

The demi god spins around to spot one of the humans watching him from the corner. A girl in a black sweatshirt and jeans jumps down from the ledge. Her silver eyes watch carefully, and her golden hair is tied back in a ponytail. This human looks quite a bit younger than the others, and watches the demi god carefullu. 'Oh great, is this one going to try and kill me to?' Herobrine grips his obsidian swords and prepares for an attack.

"Are you ok?" The girl questions and tips her head to the side, "can you talk?"

"Of course I can talk," Herobrine replies with a glare. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"You were just sitting there and not responding," the girl explains. "Oh, and you were also glaring at me."

"Why are you in the training hall?" Herobrine asks with a sigh, "shouldn't you be out enjoying the party or something?"

"Shouldn't you?" The girl replies and raises an eyebrow, "isn't this your party after all?"

"Yes... but it's not like I actually have to go to the party..." Herobrine argues carefully. "I mean... I'm suppose to go... but..."

"You don't like being around your brother?" The girl asks honestly, "you seem kind of awkward around him."

"It's not that i don't like being around him," Herobrine stutters, completely blown away by her question. "I only see him once a year, and when I do he usually goes overboard with the whole 'birthday' idea."

"What, you don't like exploding cakes?" The girl questions with a laugh, "ok, I guess I can agree with you on that."

"Can't you go annoy the other humans?" Herobrine asks with a sigh.

"Everyone else is way older than me though," the girl groans. "Your the only other kid here."

"I am twelve now," Herobrine growls. "I am not a kid anymore!"

"Really?" The girl asks with a smile, "I'm going to be twelve next month. Pretty sure that still makes you a kid though."

Herobrine pauses for a moment, he had never actually met someone his age before. Notch and the other gods were at least five years older than him, and few humans actually traveled to the Nether; much less someone his age.

"What's your name?" The girl ask happily.

"...Herobrine," the demi god answers carefully. "Demi god and brother of Notch."

"Cool, I'm Fate," the girl states. "Umm... what's a demi god?"

"You don't know... what a... demi god is?" Herobrine questions silently, "really?"

"Am I suppose to know?" Fate answers and tips her head to the side, "sorry, i only spawned yesterday, and I'm not really sure how Minecraft works yet."

"It's not important... I'll tell you later," Herobrine replies and casts a glance at the netherack block. "I'm going to get some cake, you want some?"

"Why not," Fate says with a shrug. "I thought it all exploded though?"

"I'm sure Notch is trying to bake another one," Herobrine answers with a smirk. "It's always fun to watch him try to cook."

"Sure," Fate answers and follows after the demi god."Watching cakes explode actually sounds fun."

* * *

Notch smiles as Herobrine leaves the room and the human girl follows after. It probably would have been smart to only bring humans his brothers age, but children weren't commonly new spawns. Most of them we're born and raised in Minecraft, making it difficult to move them from their families. There was something weird about the girl, but he couldn't seem to figure out exacately what it is. Another pair of footsteps echo down the hall, and Notch turns to spot his godly friend walking down the hallway.

"Jeb, it's good to see you made it," Notch calls out as his friend turns the corner.

"We have a problem," Jeb states with a blank tone. "A really big problem."

"Like what?" Notch questions, his voice becoming serious, "it's my brothers birthday, and I really didn't want to deal with any problems today."

"You don't have to deal with it today," Jeb replies with a sigh. "You aren't going to like it though."

"What's the problem them?" Notch questions slowly, "If I don't have to deal with it today, then I better need to actually know this information."

"Your brother managed to hack into the code today," Jeb responds darkly.

"He did... what?" Notch questions silently and the world seems to darken around him, "your kidding... right?"

"This is a dangerous situation Notch," Jeb whispers and glances around. "If he actually manages to bypass the security codes, he could collapse the whole game."

"He can't do that," Notch sighs. "Besides, I set up the code so that he can't access it. Whenever he tries he will get kicked out."

"He's your brother," Jeb replies and walks away. "He can't access it alone, but if someone tampered with the security codes he could easily break in."

"No one else has access to the code," Notch replies unhappily.

"That's the other problem," Jeb adds quietely. "A hacker has entered the game."

* * *

(Back to the Present)

Notch silently looks at the code from the mountain fortress. The memory of his brothers twelfth birthday party is flashing through his thoughts. Each line of code was out of place, and restoring half of it had taken a good amount of power. The Aethers code line was nothing more than a line of scrambled numbers now, and rewriting it could take years. Only a few people had access to the code, and it seemed unlikely that one of the gods would destroy their home.

Herobrine could change the code, but only in small amounts before he had to fight with the security instead. Part of him regrets placing the security code into the game, but he had promised himself not to let Herobrine get involved. This was dangerous enough as is, and he didn't want his brother to have to live with the truth. There was one last person who had access to the code, but she was dead.

Scrolling down the broken code line, Notch notices a code line completely unaffected by the break down. 'Now what do we have here...' He slowly reads the code and a frown forms on his face. Someone had placed a prophecy in the code without his knowledge. Suddenley the ideas line up and he jumps up from the computer.

"There is only one person who has access to the code," Notch states slowly, and glances back at the prophecy. "So Fate is the cause of all this..."

He flicks his hand, causing a group of twelve enderman to appear in the computer room. The mobs look on in confusion, but quickly kneel upon spotting Notch.

"My lord," the main enderman says with a bow. "How may we be of service to you?"

"I need you to go to the Nether," Notch commands. "There most likely is a human staying there at the moment. I want you to kill her and anyone who has seen her there. Tell no one of what I have asked you to do, and don't alert Herobrine of your mission."

"My Lord, why can we alert no one of this misson?" One of the enderman asks quietly.

"Because no one can know that this human existed'" Notch whispers as the enderman vanish. "Brother... forgive me..."

* * *

**Dun dun dun! Ok so next chapter there will be two big battle scenes. However only one is an actual battle... So this is where the story starts to get confusing, but It will all make sense soon, and you will have this sort of a ohhh... moment where everything becomes crystal clear. Anyways the heroes will be departing on another journey soon and two new characters will also be joining. Oh also there is going to be major irony next chapter... MAJOR IRONY.**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hey guys, InfinityGuardien here. I know that new chapters for this story are becoming less andless frequent, and I'm trying really hard to keep up. *knows that im failing :/* I don't know why, but life is really busy right now. I think it's just one of those times of year again XD. Anyways, my school year is slowly ending, but the next month or so Updates will be only once or twice a week :( I'm really sorry, but I have standardized tests, finals, and final projects next month, and my spare time will be... well yes there is no free time. The story will continue, and no matter what I WILL post a new chapter ATLEAST once a week. I'm really sorry about this you guys, but after that I will have ALOT of spare time to write :) (also I mentioned last week this would be an ironic chapter, but I had to move that one to next chapter, because I'm having writers block on that event :( now I understand why it makes authors so angry when they have it. IT'S EVIL)**

* * *

The floor creaks as I walk down the unstable netherbrick hallway. I've walked this hallway so many times before, but this time it's different. Even the usually humid Nether air seems to hang low in the air, and messes with visibility. It's so quiet without the mobs racing up and down the hallway, but I miss the sense of security they used to provide. Of course that was over a thousand years ago, and if Zz hadn't stopped them they would have killed me. So I suppose that it's actually safer with the mobs out defending the fortress. There's a sort of suspense in the air, and my hand tingles in preparation. I know that they're coming. From the very beginning I had realized that Notch would eventually realize that I was the one messing with the codding. However I had thought that it would take him longer to realize this, and this was forcing my plan to start sooner than I had initially expected.

I enter my room and listen as the door closes with a soft thud. The curtains are draped over the windows, and I throw them open. Heat rushes through the thin glass pane, and I gladly accept the heat it brings. Lava runs through the hellish landscape, and ghasts patrol the sky like fluffy clouds. This might be the last time I ever come back here...

My hand begins to shake with intonation for what's to come. After years of living in the Nether, I developed a sixth sense. If a situation was dangerous or was going to become dangerous, then my hand would start to shake as a warning. The silence breaks as a warping sound fills the room.

"Pitiful," I growl as I count the noises; twelve. "This shouldn't be hard."

Twelve enderman attack without warning, and teleport inches from my throat. Silently I raise my hand and tap into the void energy around me. Unlike the Overworld, the Nether was less protected to the power of the void, and the unstable power source it withholds.

Everything seems to stop as the energy rushes through my hand and into the open air. Lightning strikes the walls of the room and blazes through the attacking mobs. The enderman let out cries of remorse, but quickly despawn when struck by the energy. When the last one is gone I quickly block out the Void and return to reality.

My knees quake from the sudden lack of power, but I force myself to remain onto feet. Blackness eats at my vision, as i start to lean forward. I grab ahold of the wall for balance and slowly begin to limp for the door. Lighting spells didn't usually take so much energy...

The burning carcass of one of the enderman is spewed across the floor, and the scene is absolutely revolting. Purple blood slowly incinerates on the floor due to the heat, and purple eyes stare out at nothing. Pity flashes across my face, but I keep limping for the door. They attacked me, not the other way around...so I shouldn't feel bad... right?

"Fate," a voice calls out from the hallway. "Please reconsider your plan."

I sigh and open the door, looking Zz in the eye and replying, "I can't, it's already to late to quit."

"There's no way you'll survive this," Zz yells desperately, and gasps at its voice. "I'm sorry my lord. I... I don't know where that came from. This is just so far beyond my field of understanding..."

"This is what it's going to take," I reply with an edge to my voice. "Staying here isn't safe anymore anyways."

"Not safe?" The blaze questions in confusion, "how is this 'mission' of yours going to be safer than being here. Your going to the Overworld right after a major calamity in the middle of the night. How is this 'safer than staying here?"

Sighing, I open the door wider and glance at the room. "This is why," I add as Zz let's out a cry of shock. "Someone wants me dead."

"I can't believe... who would want you... why would this...," Zz stutters with a horrified expression. "Who would send enderman after you?"

"Well, who has authority over the enderman," I answer silently. "That's why I can't stay here. It'll be harder to find me in the Overworld then here, and I have a mission to achieve."

"I can't believe Notch would do this,"Zz mutters quietly. "And you... you killed them."

"We're going to war," I reply sharply. "It was either them or me, and I did what I had to. There will always have be casualties for the greater good."

Zz shakes its head and chuckles lightly, replying, "you sound more and more like him everyday." The blaze sighs and nods slowly. "Guess I can't stop you."I nod and continue to walk down the hallway. "Promise me one thing though."

"Anything," I reply and continue to half limp, half walk down the hallway.

"Make sure you don't die," the blaze sighs and I turn the hallway. I was already planning on it. Now, its time to put the plan in motion. Step one: reach the Overworld.

* * *

"You sent what after her?" Jeb questions in horror, "how could you be so stupid!?"

"It was the first thing I could think of," Notch growls in reply. "What else was I suppose to do?"

"Well you should have talked to the rest of the gods first," Jeb replies with a sigh, and warily shakes his head. "Did you even think how your brothers going to react if he finds out?"

"He can't, I mean he will never- should never know about this,"Notch pleads silently. "I don't ever want him to know about this..."

"You can't hide everything," Jeb sighs and begins to type something into the computer. "The code is growing weaker by the hour, and so do the memory blockers."

"What do you mean by that?" Notch question immediately, "the memory blockers aren't tied to the code."

"Yes, but your powers are tied to the code," Jeb answers thoughtfully. "If the code looses enough power, all of the gods spells could become useless. Including the ones already cast."

"We have the first hero and my brother in one building," Notch states with a horrified expression. "If the memory blockers stop working..."

"There are bigger problems than those twos little feud," Jeb yells. "All of the spells Notch, including the ones holding Minecraft together."

"The ones keeping... so this could lead to a complete crash of the game," Notch stutters in horror. "How do we stop it?"

"Get rid of these Shadows once and for all," Jeb answers and pulls a file onto the computer screen. "It's not much, but I managed to collect as much info as possible about them."

"How in the world did you?" Notch calls out in shock and stares at the screen, "never mind how, what did you find out?"

"Basically, sometimes if a human dies in Minecraft then a new Shadow appears," Jeb explains. "Normal mobs and such also have the same process, but they become those creatures that attacked the Aether."

"So we haven't actually fought a human Shadow yet?" Notch questions, "only basic mobs and such. Are they more dangerous than normal shadows?"

"Considerably, but they're not our main problem," Jeb answers with a sigh. "They also have the ability to form Shadows with the same ability of any LIVING human... or demi god..."

"You mean they have four demi god Shadows," Notch blurts out. "You're kidding, right?! Please tell me your kidding..."

"The data shows that its very likely," Jeb replies quietly. "We do have one advantage though. They can't copy gods."

"Thank goodness for that," Notch adds slowly and looks away. "What about Fate, do they have a shadow of her as well?"

Jeb tenses slightly and replies, "that's the thing, I don't really know if they do or not." Notch looks over in confusion. "You see, the computer shows that there is a shadow of her... but that it isn't in existence anymore. Like its suppose to be there, but isn't."

"That is weird," Notch agrees and looks back over the coding. "Anyone else like this?"

"No," Jeb answers and shuffles through a file. "I'm going to look into this, but you should probably be watching your brother. If the memory blocking spell ends..."

"Right," Notch adds and quickly leaves the dimension.

"Lord Notch," one of the creepers calls out through the door. "The remains of twelve enderman were found in the Nether."

"The remains of..." Notch mutters. "Oh shit, she didn't die did she."

"There was no sign of struggle either," the creeper explains. "It's like something just... killed them, and didn't even bother to hide the bodies. Like... it's some sort of a message..."

"She didn't die," Notch stutters. "Wait- did the remains give any clues as to how they died?"

"Electrocution," the creeper responds. "It's unlikely they even knew what hit them."

"Thanks," Notch mutters and begins to walk away. The darkest door flings open as the two cloaked heroes enter the room.

"Notch," R says urgently. "We have a problem."

"What now?" Notch sighs, "I've already had to deal with a lot of problems today ..."

"I think that your brother and the hero are beginning recognize each other," Z replies matching R's urgency. "If the two find out..."

"Then Maria and Tyler will deal with it," Notch replies sharply. "That's their only job anyways."

"Maria doesn't have any training," R argues. "And Tyler is more used to the technical side of things then to combat."

"You are not sending them into battle," Z cries out in horror. "I- I won't... we won't let you."

A shadow appears at the doorway, but the three beings inside don't notice and continue to speak. The hooded figure looks on with a blank expression; a wisp of ginger hair falling on front of his eye.

"We have given a lot for this lie of yours Notch," R agrees. "But we won't stand by as they get themselves killed."

"I understand your concern," Notch growls. "We all have to make sacrifices for the greater good! You can't be selfish with your actions."

"Selfish?" Z questions anger fueling her voice, "we left them for YEARS, they think we're dead. We went into hiding so this "plan" of yours can continue. Do you know what it's like, being right next to the children you haven't seen in YEARS, and not being able to tell them who you are. Do you know how hard this is? Yet you're calling US selfish!"

"Zoey...,"R warns carefully. "You need to calm down now."

"You calm down Rythian," Zoey growls. "Don't tell me your not upset about this."

"I'm sorry," Notch murmurs. "I forget how much you two have given up."

"It's fine," Rythian replies. "She's just a little emotional because Maria doesn't trust us."

Slowly, the figure at the door steps away, still unnoticed by the people inside. The fifteen year old demi god steps back into the shadows in amazement.

"So they're alive," Tyler mutters quietly. "The creeper attack... that explosion... the graves. All a lie..."

The teenager turns and walks down the hall unnoticed and growls, "I hope they don't acpect some sort of apology to fix this. I don't forgive that easily, and Maria ... she's even worse."

"I better tell Maria and Laura..." Tyler mutters darkly and walks away. "There's going to be Nether to pay mom and day, just you wait..."


	25. Chapter 25

**I'm back and actually ahead of schedule for once... WHEN DOES THAT HAPPEN? Ok :) well it's good news for me at any rate. Also *hands everyone a price of cake* its the 25th chapter :) so this is officially the longest fan fiction I have ever written. YEAH :D**

* * *

"Steve?" Maria questions and walks over to her friends side, "are you ok? You've been staring into the wall for a while now..." The girl follows the boys gaze and frowns when she sees nothing out of the ordinary. With a sigh, she taps him on the shoulder and yells out, "what the Nether are you doing?"The boy instantly flips around in surprise, and finds himself staring into the girls confused, emerald green eyes. He glances back toward the wall and replies,"Sorry, I thought that I saw something over there..."

"There's nothing there," Maria adds, slightly annoyed. "Come on, let's get back to training, ok?"

"Right," Steve replies,following his friend after taking one last glance at the wall. "Am I imagining things?"

A hand shoots for the back of the boys throat, with a strangling cry of alarm he tries to free himself. "Maybe now you'll pay attention,"Maria says with smirk, releasing his throat. "If that had been an enemy, you would be dead already."

"That was a little harsh," Steve growls unhappily, rubbing his throat. "What sort of enemy is going to strangle me anyways? Wouldn't it be better to just kill me with a sword anyways?"

Maria frowns at the comment and zones out for a moment before replying, "You'd be surprised..."

"Oh," Steve mutters quietly. For a few moments everything is quiet before he breaks the silence. "So umm... if someone is strangling you, what's the best way to defend yourself?"

"Well there's to old fashioned way," Maria answers, grateful for the distraction. "You kick your attacker as quickly as you can before losing to much air."

"That doesn't sound like it works much," Steve replies and lifts an eyebrow in doubt. "Anything else you can do?"

Maria nods silently and adds,"Along the side of the neck leading up to the ear is the carotid artery. It's the main supply of blood to the brain, and a sudden, well placed blow can momentarily send the person's brain into shock. This is only momentary, but it will work on just about anyone... even demi gods."

"Momentarily?" Steve questions, "so I would have to hit the artery and then use the pause to escape?"

"Exactly,"Maria responds with a smile. "Actually striking the artery hard enough could lead to shock or knocking the person out, but in your case it would probably only be a momentary brain failure."

"Ok, if I ever get strangled I know what to do," Steve adds with a slight mocking tone. "Good to know. Now, can I learn something I might actually use someday?"

"If your so sure of yourself why don't you duel me?" Maria growls with a slight smirk, "if you want to disrespect my teachings so quickly you must already know all there is to learn."

"I didn't mean it like that," Steve apologizes quickly. "Sorry, it's just that I can't imagine myself dying by being strangled."

"Trust me, it's more likely then you think," Maria sighs and pulls her obsidian blades from her belt. "I was serious about the duel though. It's pretty clear that you aren't getting much out of fighting the practice dummies, and it would be good for you to experience real combat. Just till the other is disarmed though, we don't need to injure ourselves with this war looming overhead."

"Umm right," Steve replies and draws his own iron sword from his belt. 'This isn't really a fair duel, it's two blades against one...'

Two black swords swerve for the boys neck, and he barely has time to recognize it as an attack before being thrown backwards onto the ground. "I told you to pay attention Steve," Maria growls calmly. "Losing focus in battle will only get you killed..."

The boy swings his foot out and manages to knock one of the obsidian blades against the wall. He stands up with a burst of energy, narrowly missing a swipe from Maria's remaining blade, and taunting, "You should take your own advice then. Criticizing me just lost you a sword."

"True," Maria adds, lunging forward and swinging the blade towards the iron sword. Steve narrowly blocks and ducks to evade a blow to the head. Turning to the side the girl carefully walks around the human carefully timing a finishing strike. "This isn't really a duel though, I'm just showing you how much you need to learn."

Steve carefully waits for her next attack, following his opponents every movement. There's a brown blur as the girl lunges forward at the boy. He raises his sword to block, but something seems familiar. 'I have seen this before... somewhere. This is only practice, but I get the feeling I've been in this exact situation before. If that true... what happened then? I guess I better try something a little different then blocking.'He sidesteps, causing Maria to land awkwardly on the ground, slightly stunned by the sudden evasion move.

'Now my chance.' Dropping to the floor, he carefully knocks Maria's foot out from under her. Unable to respond, she falls backward and Steve knocks the blade from her hands with a powerful swing. Grabbing ahold of the obsidian sword, he stands up and adds, "really, because I'm pretty sure I just won."

Maria looks up for a moment, the shock fairly evident on her face. After a few moments, she pushes herself onto her feet and stands up. Pain shoots up her leg and she grimaces at the sharp sting. Steve immediately glances at her and asks," Did you injure your foot again? I'm sorry Maria, I knew that you were still injured, I shouldn't have aimed for your foot. Do you need me to get the healer?"

"I'll be fine," Maria grumbles stubbornly, and kneels down to inspect her injured foot. "It was basically healed anyways, and I thought I'd be fine with a little battle practice. I wasn't expecting you to win though."

"Just luck I guess," he answers with a shrug. "What else could it be." Before Maria can reply the door slams open as a teenager with fiery red hair storms into the training room. Tyler looks on unhappily, his usual cloak has been replaced by a basic red shirt and black jeans. Two obsidian swords, much like his sister hang from his belt, and a pair of black goggle are tied around his forehead.

"Hey sis, hey Steve," Tyler states, his earlier frown becoming an unconditional smile. "You guys are training to I see."

"Hey Tyler, where have you been?" Maria replies casually and continues to rub her ankle, "weren't you getting cake or something?"

"I was for a while," Tyler responds and sighs a little. "The cafeteria staff threw me out because apparently sugar is bad for you. So after eating a whole cake they decided it would be best if I explored the fortress instead."

"Harsh, but I've seen you on sugar and we really don't need to deal with that right now," Maria adds with a smirk, thinking about the memory from her past. "Do you know what the others are doing?"

"Apricot and Brandon are still in the cafeteria, Sky and those other two are talking about something down in the airplane hanger," Tyler replies casually. "Z and R are talking to Notch about something, and Herobrine is right behind you."

"Herobrine is...," Maria questions before snapping her head straight backwards. The shadowy demi god appears out of the shadows and walks over towards the group with a deathly silence. "How long have you been here?"

"Sense you began training," Herobrine replies with a yawn. "I wanted to see how the humans training was going."

"When did his training become so important to you?" Maria questions sharply,"don't you have better things to do at the moment?"

"My brother is still trying to figure out how the Shadows were able to reach the Aether," Herobrine replies. "Nothing is really happening right now that demands my attention, so I came to see if the human can actually fight."

"Why would that be important to you?" Tyler questions casually.

"We are at war," Herobrine growls and looks the younger demi god in the eye. "Unfortunately, that makes you my ally until further notice. I also don't understand how a human somehow lived through a nuke blast, and why you were willing to bring him with you to the battle in the first place. If he can actually put up a decent fight, then he may be useful in future battles."

"Well you saw him duel me, I'm sure you have all the info you need now," Maria growls unhappily. "Can you leave now?"

"He beat you," Herobrine states plainly. "How did a normal human beat you? Even in an injured state, it would have been an easy win. Especially for an untrained, new spawn."

"Well... I'm sure there's a perfectly valid answer," Maria begins, her voice trailing off as she searches for an answer.

"I knocked her off balance," Steve answers quickly, ignoring a shocked glance from the siblings. "She thought the battle was over, but I managed to knock her off balance and hit her injured foot. In the end it was really just good luck though."

"Yes, but choosing to evade instead of block was a tactical move, and one of an adept fighter no less," Herobrine mutters thoughtfully. Within a millisecond a blade swings staring for the humans head. Maria gasps in alarm, but is to slow to stop the sudden attack. Steve swerves his own blade to block the blow, stopping the sword only centimeters from his neck. "Your reflexes are higher than normal as well,"Herobrine adds, and sheathes his sword. "Most... unusual..."

"You almost killed him," Maria cries out angrily and shoves Steve behind her. "What the Nether were you thinking?"

"There is no place for the weak in war," Herobrine answers and begins to walk away. "Perhaps your friend will survive a few more battles."

"What we that?" Maria growls as the demi god leaves the room, "he shows up, randomly attacks you, and then just leaves like nothing happened!"

"I think he was testing me," Steve adds carefully. "Something about him seems familiar..."

"You're probably mistaken," Maria states quickly. "I think he was testing you though. Though I can't seem to figure out why it would make sense."

"Well you did survive a nuke explosion without injury, while Maria, who's a Demi god, took a decent amount of damage," Tyler responds thoughtfully. "It's kind of weird don't you think..."

"Yeah I guess so," Maria adds and yawns slightly. The doors to the hallway open again as a man steps into the room. "What now?"

"Notch has called a meeting in the main hallway," Jeb states and walks into the room. "All heroes and demi gods should be in attendance. They're deciding what our next step should be."

"Should Steve come?" Maria questions quickly and glances at her friend, "He's not a hero, but he's still important..."

"No, humans aren't being permitted into the meeting," Jeb replies sympathetically. "Your friend should just get some sleep while he still can."

"Will Z and R be there?" Tyler questions with a glint in his eye, "they're heroes after all."

"Yes, Z and R will be in attendance," Jeb answers and turns to leave. "I need to go fetch Herobrine. The meeting starts in two minutes, you might want to hurry."

"Of course," Maria replies and turns to look at Steve. "You should get some sleep, we might be heading out soon."

"Ok," Steve replies with a yawn. "Good luck at your meeting."

The two demi gods race down the hall, following Jeb, and leave Steve alone in the hallway. He place the iron sword back on the rack and slowly walks out of the room. When he reaches his room at the fortress he quickly opens the door and collapses on the bed. The overwhelming day quickly overtakes the human, and he falls into a calm sleep.

* * *

Notch watches carefully as the grand hallway fills with people. A few of the gods had managed to slip out of the Aether before the attack, and those who could make it had quickly assembled at the fort. Some of the remaining heroes had agreed to meet as well, but most had blatantly refused the offer; they had saved Minecraft before, they didn't have the power to do it again. Herobrine sits at the corner of the table a few seats from Notch, and the siblings had wandered in a little earlier. Maria and Tyler sat next to each other a few seats behind Herobrine, and calmly wait for the meeting to begin.

"Everyone here," Jeb states as he walks into the room. "You should begin the meeting soon."

"Right," Notch answers and walks to the head of the table. "Everyone please take a seat."

The group gradually takes a seat at the large oak table and looks around. Z and R sit just across from Maria and Tyler, Sky and some of the other heroes. An older scientist with blonde hair sits down right next to Maria and greets the two siblings with a smile.

"Hello, you must be one of the new heroes," the man states with a smile and reaches out to shake Tyler's hand. "I'm Duncan, on of the scientists from the Yogcast generation. You are?"

"Tyler," the red headed demi god answers and motions to his sister. "And my sister Maria."

"We're not new heroes actually," Maria adds sharply.

"Then why are you here?" Duncan questions curiously, "no offense of course, but i thought that only heroes and gods were invited."

"No, that is true," Maria adds with a slight laugh. "We're the Enderborn family, the three demi gods."

"The Enderborn family..." Duncan mutters in shock and slight horror. "Wait, three of you, I only see two."

"Laura couldn't come," Tyler adds with a sigh. "It isn't safe to bring her into this war anyways."

"We'll you two definitely look like your parents," Duncan adds and shakes his head. "I should have guessed you were from the Enderborn family."

"You knew our parents?" Maria blurts out quickly, "They never spoke about you before... well, when they were alive of course."

"They passed away?" Duncan questions and glances across the table at R and Z, "when was this exactly?"

"About four years ago," Tyler replies with a pointed glare at Z and R. "We were all heartbroken with their passing, but we learned to survive in their absence. Maria and I basically took over the house hold and Laura left to live with some friends up North."

"I see," Duncan adds, following the boys glare to Z and R before sitting down next to the two. "Well it's nice to meet you."

"Ahem," Notch coughs trying to gather the groups attention. "It's time to decide what the next step should be in this war, and what precautions we should take to insure our success."

"We should send a group to gather support among the humans," one of the surviving gods calls out. "It's time they took up arm for the creators and protectors of this world."

"That's a foolish decision," one of the heroes argues. "Most humans are quite unhappy with the gods because of these creeper attacks on their villages. The 'gods' have stops by as out race is being destroyed, why would we lift arms to help you now?"

"It's true," Duncan agrees. "Most humans have stopped supporting the gods ages ago. It would be unlikely that they would be willing to help us in turn."

"Let's try and take care of this ourselves," another person adds. "Bringing the humans into this will only cause more problems."

"You're forgetting the amount of Shadows were up against," Jeb growls. "For every one of us there is almost a dozen of them. If we want to win we will need the humans support."

"The humans won't help," another god argues. "There to busy with their own problems to worry about us."

"The only reason 'we humans' have these problems is because you stood by while the creepers blew apart most of our population," a hero screams in disgust. "There is no reason for us to help you."

"Then why are you even here then?" Screams someone else, as voices start to flood the hall.

"Silence," growls a voice beside Notch. When the arguing continues, Herobrine stands up and focuses on the grand banquet table. The whole thing suddenly lights into a fiery inferno, the arguing turns to screams of fear and dead silence. "There, perhaps next time you will listen."

"Thanks brother," Notch mutters with a sigh if relief," You all have a fair point, but in order to win this war we will need the humans support. So I'm going to send a group to ask the king of Minecraftia for help."

"You'll have a better shot at ending this war with friendship then getting his support," Duncan growls.

"Yes, and that's why I will be sending my brother," Notch adds quickly. "In fact it would be quicker to simply send all of the demi gods."

"Your doing what?" Z calls out in shock, "why would you send all of the demi gods on the same mission."

"The humans need to understand that we aren't weak," Jeb adds. "By sending three demi gods we send the message that we're still quite powerful."

Notch glances at Herobrine and asks, "do you have any objections."

"I'm more than capable of doing this alone," Herobrine argues grudgingly and sighs. "If you insist..."

"What about you two?" Notch asks, turning his focus to the demi god siblings, "any objections?"

"We're willing to go," Maria answers, and quickly adds, "But only if Steve will be coming with us."

"I guess that can be arranged," Jeb says and shoots Notch an uneasy glance. "Ok, the four of you will set up for the capitol of Minecraft in the morning."

Maria nods slightly and shoots Tyler an uneasy glance. The red headed teen nods slightly and shakes his head in preparation. "What did we just get ourselves into?" Maria mutters quietly and shakes her head slightly, "this isn't going to end well..."

* * *

**This is Sparta! Oh wait wrong document, this isn't history class... Anywho XD next chapter will be fairly interesting, because you have Steve, Herobrine, ****Maria, and Tyler stuck traveling together for at least a week. Anyone spot the problem :) Also Fate won't be making an appearance for a while, but she will be back... she just has to do some things before she returns. Trust me, you'll know when she's back. It isn't going to be the opposite of subtle.**


	26. Chapter 26

**Hallo people's :) I am back with a new chapter! I wanted to get this done friday, but i didn't have enough time. Anyways, Im trying to give the characters more of a personality, because it makes them seem more like real people. This chapter is semi depressing, some what funny. I think next chapter is going to be funnier though. *smiles deviously* hehehehehe you will never see it coming**

* * *

The four travelers quickly travel up the narrow passageway. Herobrine walks a few paces in front of the group, followed by Tyler, who swerves back and fourth on the pathway; jumping around in excitement. Maria and Steve walk side by side and watch as the overly excited teen nearly falls off the cliff multiple times. The sun slowly rises on the horizon and the moon has begun to set from the sky. They had left in th middle of the night, but had made good progress in a little under three hours.

"It is just so... so pretty out here," Tyler rattles on and on, jumping up and down. "There are so many trees! Well there were trees back home to, but it's totally different when your up on a mountain and they're just little specs in the distance! I wonder what would happen if I jumped down?" The boy leans over the edge, looking straight down at the sheer drop below. "Only one way to find-" Tyler begins, only to be cut off when Maria grabs his shoulder and pulls him back toward the mountain side.

"You will become a tiny splat on the ground," Maria growls unhappily. "And we don't have time to scrape you off the floor."

Steve steps forward, knocking a few pieces of gravel of the side. The hero jumps back when the rock below his foot gives way, crying out in alarm. Maria glances backwards and motions for the group to move on.

"The grounds pretty unstable here," Maria adds and continues walking. "We should keep moving, we need to reach the capitol of Minecraftia by tomorrow morning."

"Why do we have to go so f-a-r," Tyler complains with a frown, completely unfazed by the danger of falling right of the cliffside. "It's not like this city is going anywhere."

"I bet they'll have cake when we get there," Steve says with a smile. "So the sooner we get there, the sooner you get sugar."

"WHY would you give him sugar?" Maria groans and motions to her brother, "he's like THIS without sugar, do you really want to see him when he's hyperactive? It is not a pretty sight Steve, not a pretty sight."

"Yeah, I guess your'e right," Steve mutters and lets out a yawn. "How long have we been walking for again?"

"About three hours," Maria replies, glancing at a piece of technology strapped around her wrist. "If we keep this pace we should be able to reach the capitol by sunset. Give or take a few hours depending on the weather conditions."

"Weather conditions?" Herobrine questions, glancing back at the trio. "The sky is still clear, why would there be delays due to the weather?"

"Snow builds up in the mountains," Maria explains. "If there's any precipitation while we're up in the mountains we could be looking at an all out blizzard."  
"Snow," Herobrine growls with a frown. "Not only do I have to travel with three others, but I have to travel while it's cold enough to snow."

"Can we take a break?" Tyler questions with a yawn, "we had to leave right after the meeting, and I didn't get any sleep."

"No," Herobrine growls and continues to trudge up the stone pathway. "Taking a break will only waste time, and I wish to get this trip over with as quickly as possible."

"I guess he's right," Maria sighs and continues to walk. "The quicker we reach the capitol, the quicker we can part ways."

The passageway begins to narrow, and the group carefully navigates the crevice. At the end of the walkway is the entrance to a cave system. Herobrine stops at the entrance and looks in with confusion. Maria and Tyler stop a few paces back and look into the dark passageway.

"A cave system?" Steve questions, cocking his head to the side slightly, "we have to go through it then?"

"It doesn't look like we have a choice," Herobrine states, narrowing his eyes to search the dark corridor of the entryway. "Going backwards would only waste time, and there doesn't appear to be any safe way around it."

"Guess we're goin' in the creepy, damp looking cave then," Tyler adds enthusiastically, earning him multiple annoyed glares from the others. "It's an adventure!"

"Right..." Herobrine adds in confusion. "Everyone just follow a few steps behind me and try not to get lost."

Steve nods in agreement and quickly lights a torch. The trio carefully follows the demi god through the dimly lit cave. A screech echoes through the clearing, as bats fly through the damp air past the group. With each step the darkness seems to grow darker, and the torch flame begins to extinguish.  
"What's going on?" Steve questions as the torch flickers out, "why did my torch just go out?"

"There can't be much air down in these caverns. The torch probably just ran out of oxygen to supply the flame," Maria states glancing around uneasily. "But something does seem ... off."

"Damn it," Herobrine growls angrily, the others turn towards his voice and notice a sudden lack of white light. "We entered Mod territory."

"What's Mod territory?" Steve questions curiously, glancing around to locate the others, "and why aren't your eyes glowing anymore?"

"It's an area where spells don't work,"'Maria sighs unhappily. "So were going to have to function without magic until we get out of this cave. It also means that abnormal light sources, like glowing eyes for instance, won't give off any light. Which means we won't be able to see anything."

"Great," Herobrine growls steeping forward thought the darkness. "Come on, I am finding a way out of this blasted cave system..."

A large cracking noise splits through the darkness, followed by a slight yelp. Tyler screams in horror, and Maria quickly locates her brother and silences him. Steve glances around in the darkness for the cause of the noise, but only stare out through the pitch black darkness.

"Steve, you ok?" Maria calls out after silencing Tyler, "do you know what that noise was?"

"Yeah I'm fine," Steve replies, turning towards the girls voice. "I'm not sure what that was, but it can't be good. Wait-" The hero slides his foot forward and jumps back slightly; a large crater splits through the ground ahead. "The ground ends," Steve calls back, carefully kneeling over the edge. "It looks like some of the rock broke off and fell below."

"Hey, wait a minute-" Tyler says, thwarting his sisters attempt to silence him. "Anyone notice who's missing from the conversation?"

"Herobrine," Maria stutters with a gasp. "He was up ahead of Steve... wouldn't that mean he sort of..."

"Yeah," Tyler adds and inches towards the crevice. "Hey, there's something down there!" The teenager lays down and pokes his head over the edge. "Oh- we might be a problem."

"What?" Maria questions, slowly following her brothers voice, "can either of you see anything?"

"Maria, you might want to take a look at this," Tyler whispers, still glancing over the edge. "I can't see very well in this light, but something tells me this goes pretty deep..."

Maria leans over the edge and growls under her breath, "this would be so much simpler if I could use spells. Without the oxygen torches aren't going to work either..."

"Don't walk any farther," echoes an annoyed voice from the bottom of the crevice. "The floor does not agree with gravity."

"Herobrine?" Tyler yells and stares downwards, "you ok down there?"

"Define 'ok'," Herobrine growls. "I think there's a passageway to get down here, but without light I doubt you'll find it. My bag did notfall over the edge, there could be some glowstone in the front pocket."

"I'll find it," Steve says, slowly shuffling along the cliff. "I think it's just up ahead-"

"Get back here," Maria yells as the human moves for the bag. "If you fall-"

"I'll be fine Maria," Steve replies, focusing on the small walkway.I'm the closest to the bag anyways, and I don't want you or Tyler falling trying to get over here."

"But-..." Maria tries to argue, but silences in defeat. "Just be careful, ok?"

"Planning on it," Steve adds, carefully leaning over to pick up the bag. "Got it."  
He carefully steps backwards, and relaxes when his foot hits solid ground. One of the pockets of the bag glows slightly, and Steve pulls out a peice of glowing stone. The cavern instantly brightens and the trio blink at the amount of light. Tyler sprints straight for a dip and the crevice and vanishes over the side.

"I found a way down!" Tyler yells, jumping from block to block, "it's a little worn down, and some of the stairs are missing, but we can get reach the bottom without copying Herobrine."

Two unhappy white eyes glare up at the red haired teenager and growls, "if I could use my spells you would be a pile of tinder by now." Tyler just laughs as he reaches the bottom of the crevice causing Herobrine to sigh. "It appears that this is some sort of a...cave system."

"It's a mineshaft," Steve blurts out in amazement, he quickly finishes the last few blocks and lands in the hard stone below. "Abandoned by the looks of it. I've never seen one like this before though..."

"You've seen abandoned Mineshafts before?" Tyler blurts out, tipping he's head to the side in confusion, "when did you have time to do that? You only spawned like... a month ago."

"I'm not sure... it just..." Steve stutters in confusion, and places Herobrines backpack on the ground. "I don't know actually, it just seemed like the thing to call it..."

"Right..." Maria says and glances around the cave. Her gaze stops on a hole in the side of the cliffside. "Let's see if we can get through here."

* * *

Steve yawns as the hallway widens into a large cavern. After a few hours of walking down the complex cave system the lack of sleep had begun to catch up on the human. Maria glances back with concern and slows her pace until she's walking by the boys side. Tyler drags his feet behind Herobrine, complaining about extreme hunger and dehydration.

"You doing ok?" Maria question, dark cycles have appeared underneath her eye from exhaustion. "We've been walking for a while now, we can take a break if you want."

"I'm fine," Steve adds with a slight smile. "I'm the only human on this trip, and I don't want to slow you guys down. Besides, I got a little sleep before we left."

"Steve, your asleep on your feet, if we keep going your only going to injure yourself," Maria argues. "And your not slowing us down." She glances at her brother who is currently pestering Herobrine with complaints. "I wonder how long this will take..."

"What will take?" Steve asks following her glance, "what's Tyler doing?"

"Being Tyler," Maria laughs quietly. "A person can only take so much pestering and hyperactivity before snapping. I've had to deal with him for years so I'm pretty good at it, but I doubt others can handle him nearly as long."

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"I already answered your question."

"Are we there... now?"

"You moved three feet from where you were the last time you asked."

"But are we there yet?"

"Does it look like we are there yet?"

"...yes?"

"Then no, we are not there yet.""Oh... are we there yet?"

"NO!"

"So we're... NOT there yet?"

"NO, WE ARE NOT THERE YET!"

"Why aren't we there yet?"

"You say another word, then you will die by fire."

"I'd like to see you try."

"Just be quiet."

"... Fine.. are we there now?"

"Yes."

"Wait- really!"

"No."

"Awwwwww..."

Maria smiles a little as her brother pesters the demi god, glad that she doesn't have to put up with the over excitable teen. Steve tilts his head to the side and says, "you and Tyler are really close, aren't you?" The girl spins around, slightly startled by the question. She starts to object, but Steve continues talking. "Your'e always making sure that he's safe and happy; even if you pretend you don't care most of the time."

"I don't- well I guess so," Maria admits with a sigh her face darkening slightly. "Laura and him are the only family I have left. My parents passed away when I was twelve, and I mostly took over the household after that. I- I just want to make sure I don't lose them as well."

"You're scared to lose the people you care about," Steve mentions and nods slightly. "That's why your so overprotective sometimes, isn't it?"

"Name one time when I was overprotective!" Maria growls loudly, scowling at the remark, "so maybe I don't like taking risks. It's kept me alive so far!"

"I didn't mean it like that," Steve apologizes quickly. "You just always seem to think that something's going to happen, and that were going to die be because of it. Always seem to think that if you actually befriend people, then they'll be killed."

Maria goes silent for a moment and focuses on the ground. "I know," she mutters silently. "It's just-..." She sighs a little and adds, "why do I always seem to end up on these subjects when I talk with you?"Steve shrugs and Maria sighs. "I guess they I've always been... on edge... since my parent passed away..."

"So your afraid to make friends because you don't want to deal with the pain of losing someone you care about," Steve adds sympathetically. "You don't want to lose anyone you care about." The boy glances over at Maria and adds, "That's why you care so much about your remaining family, right? There the only people you are willing to care for, because you don't want to lose anyone else."

"I-I..." Maria tries to speak, and looks back at Steve. " You don't know what it's like to lose your family. I was twelve, I didn't know anything about the world, much less how it worked. When they passed away I sort of... took over. I became the one to make sure that Tyler smiled, or that Tyler laughed. Maybe I never reached out to anyone beyond them, and maybe I am afraid to lose the people I care about!"

"Death is a part of life," Steve says quietly. "I know its probably hard, but sometimes you have to realize this and put things in perspective. Are you going to spend the rest of your life alone because you don't want to fell the pain of loss, or are you going to live life to its fullest and deal with these things when they occur?"

"Live life... to the fullest," Maria mutters quietly and nods. "Steve- how did you know I was... afraid?"

"I'm not really sure," Steve replies, rubbing the back of his head in confusion.

"Some times I just get these... moments where I know how other people are feeling. Kinda weird, huh?"

"Definitely," Maria agrees and shakes her head before looking back at the boy. "Thank you."

"For what?" Steve asks in confusion.

"For that advice," she explains quietly. "I think I understand what you mean now. I can't keep pushing people away."

Steve smiles and stands there for a few awkward seconds. "I consider you a friend you know," he adds carefully.

Maria smiles and blushes slightly before replying, "same."

"Hey guys!" Tyler yells coming to a sudden halt, "I think we found something!"The two quickly reach the teens location and glance down the hallway. "This is different."

The hallway opens up to a giant room. Burnt out torches line the walls of the cave, and a group of wooden doors appear to lead to some form of shelter. A few coal ores are embedded in the ceiling, and spiderwebs litter the flooring. It appears to be an old mining base.

Herobrine and Steve both speak at the same time, "I've been here before."

* * *

**Yeah :) anyways next chapter will involve certain... no I can't say. Pay attention during the next few chapters though, because a certain character will be making a discret appearance ;) oh and someone MIGHT almost drown next chapter... *evil laughter* you just have to wait and see...**

**Side Note: My goal for Tyler currently is to annoy Herobrine. If you poke someone enough eventually they'll flip out and react on instinct. In other words...**

**HEROBRINE NO GET TO BE UNCARING AND CREEPY FOR SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME!**

**Herobrine: 0_0 Noooooooooooo**

**Maria: *laughs* this ought to be funny**

**Tyler: *sits down in lawn chair with popcorn* **

**Steve: Is this safe?**

**Tyler: Probally not...**


	27. Chapter 27

**I'm ****so late again! :( I'm sorry I just got a wacko week. I have two intresting facts about my ****week that I though were funny or just plain random:**

**1. ****We reanacted the battle of Gettysburg in school, only with teenagers and volleyballs. (I GOT TO RUN ONE OF THE CANNONS FOR THE NORTH! aka: giant beachballs) it was really intresting and the teachers tried to put on "fitting" music. They ran out of songs really quickly and then the speaker system froze on Cotten Eyed Joe... (i think thats what the song was called...) It was fun because most of the people I don't like we're on the South and I have surprisingly good aim with a giant beach ball...**

**2. I took 5 Standardized tests! Every perons dream! -_-... not...**

**3. It was 85dg here ... in the city that usually boasts 360 days of rain, and it was SUNNY!? How this is possible is beyond me...**

* * *

The humanoid Shadow watches the computer screen silently. On the screen, the four travelers slowly work their way through an abandoned mineshaft deep within a mod territory. A second Shadow walks up behind the creature and stares at the screen with a look of interest. Around the two shadows is a deep blackness filled with no life or light; only silence and a deafening blackness. Slowly, the second Shadow begins to grin and fixes its gaze on the other Shadow.

"So the demi god is alone in mod territory," the second one growls. "What a fortunate situation, for us at least."

"It would be," the first grumbles, it's voice obviously female. "However it doesn't appear that Notch's brother is alone.

"What do you mean by that?" The second questions, slightly shocked by the question. It pushes the first away from the screen and points upward. "So there are two untrained demi gods with him, and they're not a threat to us. Especially in a mod territory where their spells will be useless..."

"That isn't the problem I was referring to," the first adds with a sigh and points to the lower right hand corner. "A few demi gods would be easy to kill, especially in mod territory. However I have the feeling we won't be allowed to kill the human."  
"How would that be a problem?" Growls the second mockingly, "Oh, are you scared of one measly little miner? You think it's going to wack you over the head with a pic-axe until you die? Pitiful Shade, truly pitiful."

"It's not the human I'm worried about Tack," Shade replies with silence piercing growl. "It is how the leader will react if we accidentally kill this human that worries me."

"Why would the death of a human worry him?" The Shadow, or tact questions in confusion, "It's best that we kill off as many of our enemies as possible. Killing a human is sort of like a bonus level for the bigger target."

"Under usual circumstances that's true," Shade agrees with a sigh. "But this is no normal human either. This is the human connected to Fate through the prophecy." The female Shadow glances at the ground and shakes her head. "So if we kill the human, then Fate will die as well, not to mention that he is-""

"We can get rid of Fate and Herobrine at the same time then," Tact blurts out with a sly grin, and lifts a shadowy fist in triumph. "Two enemies down with one simple cave in."

"Not yet," Shade snaps impatiently, annoyed by the interruption. "We need to keep Fate alive for the time being, and thus must keep the human alive as well."

"Fine," Tact snorts unhappily, turning back to the computer. "I'll make sure the human escapes, and Notch's brother does not. Is that better?"

"I guess," Shade replies with a shrug. "Just make sure Steve makes it out before the whole place falls down around him, ok?"

"Sure," Tact promises lightly as Shade slowly walks away through the darkness. "Wait a minute!" The Shadow abruptly calls out, "How did you know the humans name?"

Shade smiles and replies, "You forget my position. It's my job as the right hand of our leader to keep tabs on all potential threats. Just as it is my job as second in command of the Shadow Project to maintain control over the various commanders; like yourself for instance."

The female Shadow smiles ever so slightly when the commander can only grumble in reply. As the second in command of the Shadow Army she held quite a bit of power over ordinary commanders, and generals for that matter. In fact, no one could question her decision except her husband; the leader himself. Tack growls, "very well then, I'll keep the human alive... for now."

* * *

Maria turns her head to the side and stares at the two in shock. Tyler laughs slightly and walks into the abandoned mining camp. The air of the cave is stale, as if no one had entered the cavern in a thousand years. Water drops drip down onto the cold, lifeless stone. Herobrine also casts a questioning glance at the hero.

"No- I couldn't have been here before," Steve mutters in confusion. "It just seems-... No, I've never been here before. I would have remembered it... but I suppose its-"

"You've never been here before Steve," Maria states calmly, secretly shooting the miner the 'shut the heck up, you're going to get yourself killed' look. "After a while caves usually start looking the same."

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." Steve replies, narrowing his eyes when he notices Maria's expression, "when were you here Herobrine?"

"The cave simply looks familiar," the demi god answers with a shrug. "I cannot pin point a particular place or time so it must have not been important..."

"Ok," Maria breaks in and points toward the abandoned camp. "Here, lets check for supplies and then head out again, ok?"

"I FOUND SOME STUFF," Tyler's voice yells from around a corner. "You guys are so slow! I need some help looking for supplies."

Maria sighs and speed walks in her brothers direction. Steve carefully analyzes the camp and walks down one of the hallways. With glowstone in hand, the hero slowly walks through the hall, glancing into the darkened doorways. Every room looks more or less the same; 5 by 5 and completely empty. Steve leans against the door to glance into the last room, and slowly opens the door when he spots a chest leaning against the opposite wall. The hero opens the chest and leans over to check for supplies. Cobwebs line the decaying chest, and Steve jumps back slightly after noticing the remains of a cave spider.

"Doesn't look like anything useful..."Steve mutters, and notices something in the very corner of the ancient chest. The hero carefully picks up the frail booklet and tries to dust off the cover; to little avail. "What do we have here...?"Some of the pages are faded, and the entire back half of the book has been burned away as if to keep someone from reading it. Steve sits down on the floor and slowly begins to read the decaying book.

_Day 1._  
_Second day down here, and I happy to report that I've made a nice shelter down in this cave. Its never going to be as nice as my old cabin, but I have to make due for now. I'm sure my 'cabin' is now a pile of ashes somewhere along with most of the forest. Probably the town as well, I didn't here about any survivors. Also, I decided to start this journal to keep myself well... sane. I'm not sure how long I'm going to be underground, but I'll try to keep a record of what's going on. I'm sure I'll be fine though. I just lost all of my friends, my house, and my worldly possessions to a fire, surely things can't get any worse, right?_

_Day 2._  
_Things are looking up. The mines down here are filled with caverns, and ore. I've only managed to get a few iron ingots and some coal, but with Notch willing, I'll find diamonds soon. Not that I'm complaining of course, iron is very nice to. I'm starting to get over my old lifestyle, and while i'm happy to accept the challenge I'm going to miss my old home. No, from now on I'm not going to think about it. Let the past be in the past, right?I have to admit something though. For the past few days I've been getting the feeling something has been... watching me. I'm sure I'm just overreacting, but I can't shake the feeling-_

"Steve, you find anything?" Maria questions, walking in through the open doorway, "this place looks completely decayed if you ask me. Its a miracle the whole place isn't falling apart as we speak!"

"I agree," Steve replies, stuffing the journal in his bag. "We should be moving on, this place gives me the creeps..."

"Yes, there's an odd feeling in the air," Maria agrees and stares off at a crack in the stone walling. "How old do you think this place is?"

"I'm not really sure," the hero replies with a shrug. "A thousand years or so?" Steve stands up and nods toward the hallway and adds, "let's go see if the others found anything useful."

"Right," Maria answers with a slight smile, and steps out into the narrow hallway. "Wanna take bets one how long it takes Herobrine to kill Tyler?"

Steve laughs and follows Maria out of the room before replying, "that's a little counter productive, don't you think? Sure Tyler is annoying, but killing someone over something like that's a little much."

"You'd be surprised-" Maria begins, only to be cut off as the ground jolts forward and begins to shake. The girl tries to grab ahold of the wall as another round of quakes speed through the ground. A sharp rightward movement sends the two flying into the main hallway; the hallway collapsing behind them. "What's going on?!" Maria yells, as another wave of violent shakes tear at the cavern, "Tyler, where are you?"

"I'm ok," a voice calls out in reply. The red headed teen pops up from behind a pile of gravel followed by a rather annoyed looking Herobrine, "I think we're experiencing an earthquake or something-"

"Earthquakes don't work like this," Herobrine growls, cutting off Tyler's comment. "Either way, something must be going on and we should leave before anyone is hurt..."

The ground begins to shake again, sending Steve flying to the ground as Maria tries to remain standing. Tyler stumbles around the gravel pile and narrowly misses a large chunk of falling rock. He jumps to the side and glances over at his sister in horror before looking upward; the cavern is collapsing. "We need to move," Maria screams and grabs ahold of Steve's hand and glances toward the last standing hallway. "Everybody head towards the-" A large bang sears through the air, and for a split second everything stops; that's when the ground splits in half. Maria jumps over the widening crater, pulling Steve with her and running for the others. Tyler stares at the big hole in horror; an unusual expression for the reckless teen.

"The entire tunnel system could collapse," Herobrine growls, narrowing his eyes at the gaping expanse. "It would be best to leave this immediately."

"Right-," Maria adds, still holding Steve's hand and starting to run for the exit, only to find that Steve won't move. "Come on Steve, do you want to die in a hole? If we don't leave right now that might actually happen."

"It's unstable," Steve mutters and points at the remaining hallway.

"It's the only way out," Herobrine growls and steps into the hall. "This caverns going to-" The entire wall section around the hallway collapses, forcing the demi god to spring back several paces, the rubble closing off the exit and destroying the stares at the cave in with horror, and slowly looks back at Steve.

"How did you know that the rock was unstable?" She questions and points at the rock mass.

"I'm a miner," Steve replies with a slight smile, his voice holds just a bit of pride despite the bleak situation. "You spend a few days under the ground and you pick up a few things."

"Right," Herobrine sighs unhappily. "You're the miner here, any clue on how we get out of here?"

Steve glances around the collapsing clearing, but stops at the sound of a strange noise. Slowly, the hero begins to back away from the sound with a look of horror and knowledge of what's to come. Maria notices the movements and looks over in confusion; a large crack runs up the opposite wall and a stream of water trickles through the opening. For a second everything is silent, then the water bursts into the cavern. Water slams into the closed clearing, quickly throwing the four into the watery depth, and over the side of the crater.

The human hits the water with a sudden force, and struggles to swim upward. Each current pulls the miner downward and slams him into the walls. Cries of alarm fill the crater as the four are swept through a tunnel system by the rushing torrent. "Maria, Tyler-"Steve tries to yell out as he's dragged back under the thick black water. He forces himself back to the surface, gasping for breath and tries again. "Are you ok? Can- can anyone hear me?" A sudden rush of water throws Steve into the cavern wall, knocking him unconscious.

* * *

Herobrine gasps as he's thrown back under the water for a third or second time. 'Why did it have to be water?' The demi god complains silently and flinches as the current tosses him into the walls of the small tunnel. Water was usually so calm and powerless, yet in a sudden torrent and without his ability to cast spells, the demi god had become powerless against it. 'This is why I there is no water in the Nether...'

The demi god tries to surface again, but his body doesn't move. Realizing that he has lost control, Herobrine begins to panic only to notice how cold the water has begun. Sleep starts to overtake the demi god, as an icy cold settles into the water. 'Don't- don't fall asleep, if I- if I do... I just can't- not- now...not-" The demi god's slips into unconsciousness as something grasps his hand, and a pair of silver eyes carefully pull him onto solid ground.

* * *

"Im so sorry," Tack apoligizes with a deep frown. "My mission has been a complete failure. I wasn't expecting the cavern to flood with water so quickly and it appears everyone was killed as a result. Usually this would be a success-"

"You could have killed Steve!" Shade growls angrily and turns toward the third Shadow, "If Fate is killed our plans will be completely useless. We need her in order to defeat the God's!"

"Could have?" Tack questions, his frown deepening, "I though they were all killed? Why did you say 'could have' killed instead of did?"

"Because all four are still alive," the third Shadow states calmly. "It appears that they had quite a bit of... outside help."

"What?!" Tact yells angrily, "how are they still alive! Everyone inside the cavern should be dead by now..."

"It appears that the girls power has grown considerably," the third replies. "Fate is the reason your plan failed. It appears she's been following the four on their journey; from a distance of course."

"We need to kill her then," Tact growls angrily. "The girl will continue to intervene, and will eventually ally herself with the God's. She's a threat to the Shadows and should be dealt with immediately."

"Yes, she is a problem," Shade agrees. "But if she was on our side..."

"What makes you think she would ever agree to that?" Tact questions and glances toward the third Shadow. "No offense leader, but the girl is a threat, not a potential ally."

The leader smiles ever so slightly and states, "make sure you keep Notch's brother alive." He holds up a see through hand when Tact tries to object. "It's clear that Fate is somewhat attached to the demi god, and he could be used as some what of a bargaining chip..."

"Having Fate as an ally is not quite as impossible as it seems," Shade adds calmly. "After all, she was originally on our side..."

* * *

**Bet you didn't see that one comming! If you somehow did... -_- I hinted at it once and by hint I mean totally unrelated comment between Fate and a Shadow in a previous chapter. The next few chapters will be... intresting I think. A little more about Fate's past might surface... :)**


	28. Chapter 28

**Darn you writers block... -_- It took me so long to write this. *sigh* Ok well I'm back with another chapter of The Real Final Battle! I kept having to rewrite this chapter because I didn't like the 'flow' of it. Anyways this is from Fates perspective :D Yeahhhhh... Ok so she's back now. Intresting conversations will occur in the future. I also picked out a certain plot twist to insert in the story, but it won't be revealed for awhile. This one will throw you for a loop, I think it will at least... XD I dunno don't judge me. **

**Note: I'm going to start slowly going over previous chapters and fixing them up a bit. (I noticed there was a lot of spelling errors, and lose ends so I'll get those fixed up...)**

* * *

It's hard not to drop into a state of panic when I look at the situation. Herobrine has lost consciousness and the others are nowhere to be seen. I'm sure that the demi god siblings are fine, and I'm not dead yet so Steve must still be alive; though his condition is still a mystery to me... With a sigh I glance back toward my friend and cringe at my failure to help him.

"I should have helped you before the flash flood," I whisper and silently growl at my failure. "If I didn't have to stay hidden I could have... I'm sorry Herobrine. I'll explain everything soon, I promise."

Every lie seems to only costs my friends more pain, and I have to tell these lies to keep them alive. How did I get to this point, where telling the truth will only cause more harm? I guess that's the story of my life, but its not the one I plan on living; I will fix my mistakes. All of them... Or at least die knowing I tried, scratch that, I will not die until my mistakes are fixed. There, much- better...

I silently agree to the vow and close my eyes in anticipation. Slowly I glance back at my old friend lying half drowned on the bank of the underground river. I can't help Herobrine because that would announce my presence, and I'm supposed to be dead. So that's probably not the best idea in this situation... Though its hard to leave a friend alone and injured when I could help. I find myself arguing between being realistic and keeping those who I care about safe. A noise enters my head as a slight light appears around the corner.

Footsteps echo down the shallow cave and I slowly turn towards the noise. A humanoid shadow slips around the corner with a cocky grin. "Hello Fate, how strange to see you here," Shade starts curtly. "How many years has it been? 100, 300, maybe... 1000? It's very- nice to see you again."

Why are you here?" I question with a glare, the words slipping out before I can stop them. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"I'm simply here to finish a bit of... unfinished business," Shade answers and looks past me at the riverbank. "So why are you here?"

"That's not important," I growl and glare at the Shadow. "What sort of business do you have down here?"

"Removal of threats actually," Shade replies, the Shadow fixes her gaze at the figure on the riverbank. "It appears Tact was unable to kill the demi god, and I'm simply here to finish the job."

"Finish the-" I mutter quietly as the realization sinks in. Shade flinches slightly as a knife points against the back if her neck. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that," I growl and move the knife into the center of the Shadow's neck. "Care to explain why, or should I slice your throat right now?"

Shade laughs slightly and says," It looks like you've picked up a few new tricks after you betrayed us."

"Betray is a strong word," I growl, concentrating on not killing Shade quite yet. "It's not like you told me the truth. If you didn't notice my memories were erased when I came here."

"Yes, but when you regained them you still decided to stand against us," Shade sighs. "Besides, all I ever told you was the truth."

"We all know that's a lie," I growl. "Now, tell me why you're trying to kill Herobrine."

"Isn't it obvious," Shade replies with a long sigh. "He's an enemy to our organization and is the brother of the main god. I get the feeling you're not going to let that happen though, right?"

"He's the only friend I have left," I growl quietly and look away. "And with my family- I don't have anyone else left."

The Shadow smiles and states, "I suppose we could always make a deal." My head snaps up in annoyance but Shade continues talking, "we need the kill code if we want to destroy the game, and we can't transfer anything into Minecraft anymore. So in order to crash the game were going to need your help."

I just laugh and add, "let me guess, you think I have this 'kill' code that can crash the game, right?" Shade nods and looks over in anticipation. "It doesn't exist, and even if it did. I don't have it."

"It's not an object, it's a code," Shade growls unhappy at my reply. "You know the code Fate, the organization know that. After all, we were the ones who taught you it."

"So learn the code yourself then," I growl, a scowl crossing my face. "You already have the information you need, why do you need me."

"The knowledge was lost, along with other things when you were transferred here," Shade sighs. "But you still know it."

Other 'things' hmm. Those words were definitely carefully picked to cut at my emotions. To bad the other 'thing' couldn't be here to hear them say that. "I know HALF of it," I sheath, the knife starts to slip forward in my hand. "Half of it isn't going to help you, so just give up and accept that you lost."

"Half- why do you only know half of it?" Shade questions wide-eyed, "The entire point of the Shadow Project was to send two individuals with the kill code into Minecraft. Then have them destroy it from the inside out." The female Shadows pauses and blinks as she remembers what happened. "Only one individual made it-"

"So half of this supposed 'kill' code was thrown out of existence, "I muse quietly, playing with the knife in my hand. "There was unexpected turbulence on the way here..."

"The Leader won't be happy to hear of this," Shade growls with a slight grunt. "Drop the knife Fate, we both know you can't do it. "

A dark smirk slowly crosses my face, an expression I picked up from an old friend. Shade flinches slightly when she meets my gaze, a flash of fear strikes through the blackened eyes before fading back to an emotionless void. I guess I look menacing, probably not as creepy as when Herobrine smiles, but just enough to worry Shade. Killing the Shadow wouldn't be hard, but it wouldn't be helpful either. How am I suppose to get rid of a dead body before Herobrine wakes up? I snicker slightly, i may as well just wake Herobrine up and ask him where to hide a body. That's a little counter productive though...

"I think you'd be surprised actually," I whisper, tilting my head slightly to the side. "It's been a long time sense you last saw me Shade, my morals have changed quite a bit."

"You're friend still thinks your dead though," Shade adds and looks over at the river bank. "Wouldn't want him to see you yet, right?"

"Yes," I reply slowly and follow her gaze towards the riverbank. A certain Demi god is waking up. "If you ever try to kill him again I won't hesitate to end you, understand? Shade nods with a smile and vanishes from the Overworld. "So close..." I turn to leave when a voice echoes behind me.

"Fate?"

How is he awake so quickly!? My mind quickly starts to plan various explanations, but my hands acts the quickest; coating the cavern in a deep fog. So an explanation... I'm still dead and this is the Void. Yes that'll work! Other than the part where Herobrine isn't dead and this obviously isn't the Void. I change the spell so that the fog changes into swirling masses of grey energy. Perfect, and i'll just tell him he's almost dead but isn't!

"Fate, is that- is that you?" Herobrine questions and gazes around the camouflaged clearing, "does that mean that I-"

"Your still alive," I cut in quiclky. "You just lost consciousness and your mental state simply moved into the Void. I just came to make sure you were alright."

"Oh," he mutters quietely. "I need to get back, I'm pretty sure that in still in an underground torrent. Better get back and check if the others made it."

"Yeah, you can't die yet," I add with a smile. "I'm pretty sure Notch would be angry if you actually managed to drown yourself. Well somewhere between devestated and angrybut you get the picture. Besides, you've got a war to fight."

"More than one," Herobrine grumbles and glances around the make shift Void. "It looks... diffrent somehow. From last time at least."

"When did you see the void?" I question quickly, wondering how long i can keep the demi god fooled, "Last time I checked it's really hard to kill you."

"My Fiftenth birthday party," Herobrine sighs and groans slightly. "Notch decided it would be a 'great' idea to visit the Overworld for my birthday. Though because this is Notch were talking about, instead of going somewhere nice and sunny-"

"We took a trip to the Tundra," I add, smiling at the memory. "Oh, you absoloutely loved that trip."

"Sure," he groans. "Going straight from the warm weather of the Nether into snow climate. That's not a disaster waiting to happen, and to a lake as well."

"It wasn't that bad!" I argue with a slight laugh, "well, at least it wasn't to bad until you fell in the lake..."

"Fell in the lake," Herobrine grumbles. "Got trapped under the ice and got stuck there for three days. Best birthday by far."

"Oh it wasn't three days," I counter. "It was more like two and a half."

Herobrine just looks over with a 'really' expression and mutters, "Does twelve hours really change the situation so much. I got knocked unconscious after a few minutes, and at that point time didn't really seem important."

"True," I add with a smile. "All i remember is how Notch reacted. It's amazing it took so long to find you with the whole search party made up of immortals. Well immortals and me, but after you fell through I want let anywhere near the lake..." Herobrine grumbles a bit about his brother and incompetence. "It's good to see your traveling with others again."

"It was Notch's decision, not mine," Herobrine adds with a frown. "Ive found that its much harder to travel with three others then alone."

"Yeah, I guess that's true," I say with a slight shrug. "Can I hear about them?"

"I guess," Herobrine responds, looking slightly confused. "There are two demi gods and one human. The demi gods are sibbilings and the human is a friend of some sort."

"Do you trust them though?" I question in a more serious tone.

Herobrine silences before replying, "No, I don't trust any of them. I believe the demi god boy is simply delusional and hyperactive, maybe a bit- insane. His sister is much calmer, but I get the feeling they aren't telling me something."

"What about the human?" I add flatly, trying to keep the slight hope out of my voice.

"The least of them all," he mutters quietely. "I don't know why, but my instincts are telling me to put a knife in his head. Not to mention that nothing about what has happend adds up. Humans don't simply walk away from a nuclear explosion un-injured, and they also don't just instantaly learn how to fight."

"So it's a little strange," I add with a sigh and roll my eyes. "Its not like I didn't make it through enough insane experiences when I was alive. I'm sure the human just has quite a bit of luck on his side."

"I suppose your right," Herobrine adds with a sigh. "This mission will be over soon, and the war probably won't last long. Everything will go back to normal."

"This war is going to last a lot longer than you think Herobrine," I sigh and shake my head. "I've seen what Shadows can do first hand, and this isn't going to be as simple as it is in your head."

"Everything will be fine Fate. I have to go, don't I?" He adds closing his eyes, " I have to get back and help the others."

"This is where we say goodbye," I agree with a simple smile. "I'm sure I'll see you again... eventually."

"I'm sure it will be sooner than we think," Herobrine agrees quietely. "I trust you Fate, and I don't know how your alive, but I'm sure this is part of your plan. You always had plans." I jolt back a bit and suprise, letting out a slight gasp. "There aren't knifes in the Void..."

* * *

**Yay! So Herobrine knows now! Ok that's actually a very bad thing that's going to disrupt Fate's plan and will probably annoy Notch quite a bit. Now random comment to make you wonder... The 'Capitol' city is built on the mountain where two individuals once dueled... That ought to bring back memories! Well not good ones, but-**


	29. Chapter 29

**IM SORRY! :( I tried really hard but writers block hit me really badly. I would sit down write six words and just not know what to say. It was like hitting bedrock, I just couldn't break through! So I basically just forced myself to sit down and write this... **

* * *

_Light flickers through my head but I can find the strength to move. Someone's calling my name but I can't reply. Am I still underwater? Why can't I move- why am I still alive in the first place, and what happened to the others? The voice keeps calling my name, but i can't find the strength to speak or make any sort of signal. Darkness begins to clot out the light, and I'm slipping into unconsciousness... again._

_I slowly wait for death to come. The water seems to fade away and my eyes snap open to a strange white light filling the air. A little boy emerges from the light with a look of worry. He turns to look back into the light as if waiting for something._

_"Come on dear, it time to leave," A voice calls out. "I know you want to stay but-"_

_"I don't want to go," the little boy says unhappily and quickly walks back a few paces. "I want to stay with you, daddy. I want to stay here and learn how to be strong."_

_A woman is in her later-thirties and slowly emerges from the glowing light. Her golden hair is tied to the side, and sad dark grey eyes watch the child. "I know dear, but it has to be done," she murmurs, a pleading tone tucked in her voice. "Don't forget that your sister is leaving as well. You don't want to leave her all alone in the world, do you?"_

_The little boy shakes his head and turns back toward the woman. He looks about twelve with blue eyes and deep brown hair. Only one thing throws me off slightly; he looks exactly like me. Well a younger version of me anyways. "I'm coming Mom," with a sigh he slowly moving his eyes around the room as is searching for someone. "Wheres dad and-"_

_"They're going to meet us later," the woman adds and walks forward to grab the little boys hand. "Are you ready to go?"_

_"Do I really have to go?" The boy questions, piercing sapphire blue eyes gazing up at the woman._

_"I know you don't want to," the woman murmurs, crouching down to the child's height and gathering a halfhearted smile. "But you've got a country to fight for my dear- the whole world needs you. I don't want to see you or your sister go, but i don't have any choice in the matter." Tears begin to form in the woman's eyes, but a hand reaches up to stop them._

_"Don't worry mom I'll make you proud," the boy says with a smile. "Just you wait, I'll be the best soldier the world has ever seen!" The woman visibly flinches at the word 'soldier' but nods silently at the boys enthusiasm. Another figure steps out of the glowing light and walks toward the two. The little boy turns his attention to the man._

_"It's time to go Steve," the man adds, his figure not leaving the light. "There will be time to say goodbyes later."_

_Steve? The kid looks exactly like me and he shares my name? Why am i seeing this anyways? Maybe this is some sort of memory- but from where exactly? I didn't have a childhood... that I can remember at least; do new spawns even have childhoods? Could that be.. me? I glance over at the boy and find myself agreeing with my idea._

_"I'm ready to go," the child calls out and hugs the woman. "You won't forget about me... right?"_

_"Of course not my dear," she adds and slowly breaks away. "Run up ahead and meet up with your sister. I'll come by later to say goodbye to both of you."_

_The boy nods, casting a last glance at the two before leaving into the light. "You'll see them again Sophia, I promise you will," the man adds walking up beside the woman. "They're part of your family, our family, and they know why they're fighting."_

_"They won't be coming back Aedan, this is a suicide mission," the woman, or Sophia as the man had called her growls. "Let this be the end of this legacy; we don't have anything left to give this country."_

_"They will come back-" Aedan tries to argue._

_"No they won't," Sophia growls looking off into the light. "They never do. Not in my family at least."_

_"Your father did," Aedan adds, the darkness seems to crowd around the man. "This is a sacrifice we have to make for our country. I know this is hard for you, it certainly is for me, but we will get through this."Something starts to pull me backwards through the darkness. I try to pull away from the sudden movement but a voice fills my mind; pleading with me to wake up._

_"Steve!"_

_Who the heck is that?_

_"Come one get up! You can't give up now- please just... just say something! Wake up!"_

Isn't that Maria's voice? I force my eyes open and try to make sense of my surroundings. Stone walls raise up in every direction, vines hanging from the ceiling and not to mention that there is water...everywhere. "What happend?" I question wide eyed as I glance around, blinking away my recent vision. "We were in the cave when the floor caved in. There was some sort of torrent and I passed out a little later. How did we get here... and where are the others?"

"You hit your head on the cavern wall and passed out," Maria explains bleakly and leans against the wall. Though she looks happy to see that I'm alive she looks worried about something. "As for the others- Herobrine sort of... disappeared and Tyler-" she looks towards the ground and shakes her head slightly. "He's not a good swimmer..."

All I can say is, "Oh..." I pause for a second, listening to the silence. "I'm sure he's just fine Maria. That kid couldn't get himself killed if he tried."

"Yeah," she agrees with a slight nod and a faint smile. "I doubt a little water would hurt him, he'll probably be livelier then ever when we find him." With a sigh the girl pushes herself upwards onto her feet, glancing over to see if I need a hand getting up. "Rest time is over, we need to find my brother."

I smile at the optimism and slowly stand up. My vision swirls a bit at the sudden movement, but I follow Maria down the unlit cavern. Water has gathered in large puddles on the floor, dripping from cracks in the ceiling. Vines hang freely and mess with the already limited visibility; its like an underground swamp. The dark interior is some what creepy, straight out of a horror novel really, and I find myself reaching for my sword; its not there. I jump back in horror and starts rummaging through my bag for a weapon. I can't be stuck in a cave/swamp without some sort of protection! Something sharp and metallic rests at the bottom if the bag and I quickly pull the sword out. However instead of the blue sheen of a diamond blade the sword is silver, the one that girl gave me after the Nuke exploded.

"Steve?" Maria calls out and looks back at me, "you doing ok back there? You just stopped walking all of a sudden..." I quickly search for a different weapon but find my bag strangely empty. Almost all of my supplies is gone other than this sword and the journal I found in the abandoned camp. "Steve?"

"I'm fine," I reply tying a sheet of wool over the sword, and attaching it to my belt. If there's some sort of problem I'll need to use a weapon of some sorts, but I'll only use this one if I absolutely have to. "Most of my supplies is missing though."

"Do you still have a weapon?" Maria questions and I quickly nod in reply. "Well at least you've got that."

"Wonderful," I reply with a sigh. "So I've got a sword and a really old book. Let's go to war!"

Maria questions and tips her head to the side. "A... book? Where did you get a book? Which one?" She questions in confusion, "here, let me see."

I hand the journal to the demi god and watch as she slowly opens the old warn out color. How this thing survived that flood intact is beyond me. Malook flips through the pages slowly, picking up speed with each word. The girls face begins to pale and a deep frown appears on her face. She suddenly flips the journal over and opens the last page. Maria's eyes widen slightly and she blinks quickly before slamming the book shut. "Steve... where did you find this book?" She questions, slowly turning towards me, the worry obvious on her face.

"In the abandoned mine camp," I reply quickly. Why was this worrying her so much? Was there something in this book that I'm not suppose to know about? "I only read the first two pages, but it sounded interesting so I brought it with me."

Maria nods and lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank Notch you didn't read anymore." I glance at her in confusion and tip my head to the side. What did she mean by that? Is there actually something in this book I'm not supposed to know. Maria notices my frown and quickly adds, "its not that important. Its just- umm..."

"Maria, why can't I read this book?" I question, my eyes narrow suspiciously at the demi gods behavior. Why is she reacting so strangely to this book. "It didn't seem that important but by the way your acting..."

"You just can't read it, ok?" Maria explains and quickly tries to put the book away.

"Why not?" I question and grab her hand. "What's so important about it and why are you acting so... strange?!" Maria jumps back slightly and I quickly add, "I trust you Maria, but I don't understand what's going on. There's obviously something your not telling me, and I don't like all of these lies."

"It will all make sense soon," Maria replies with a sigh. "I promise I'll explain everything when the time is right, but not now." She shakes her head and places the book in her bag. "Come on, let's find Tyler and get out of this cave."

"Fine," I answer and continue down the passageway. Maria is keeping secrets from me and if she is keeping secrets, how many of the others are as well? Now isn't the time to search for answers to that question, but I get the feeling this I far from over. There is definitely something they aren't telling me.

* * *

"So they are alive?"

"Injured, separated, and worried but yes, they are all alive."

"The girl?"

"Formidable as always. It appears she has picked up a few tricks while she was... away."

"Intresting..."

"The boy has begun to regain his memories. I doubt it will be long before he figures out the gods little secret. They even have the demi god sibbilings watching him. They must really be desperate if they're resorting to those two."

"That is good, well more than good really."

"Sir, if I may ask?"

"Yes?"

"Why ask about the human? Fate is the only one of actual importance. At least that is what I have been told. Notch and Herobrine are our enemies and the others are simply casualties."

"That is where you are wrong though."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh they don't teach you new recruits anything nowadays do they? You simply get told Notch is evil and Herobrine is his brother so he must be evil as well. That Fate is the only one of importance... it's quite foolish really."

"I don't understand..."

"Do you know how long I have been on this project?"

"That's a trick question. You were the one who began the project."

"The very beggining! That might seem not to long ago to you, but I have seen everything that happend to this organization. It was twelve years ago when it the orginazation was formed and six years ago the Shadow Project began!"

"I know sir. Everyone is briefed before they come here."

"I created this organization, I started this 'project.' You have no idea how far we have changed from back then. How far our ideals have fallen since the failure..."

"Sir..."

"I know what war is. No person in they're right mind can try to tell me otherwise. But when the goal is to kill those who are fighting to keep those they love safe and for no other reason... that is when you realize this isn't war; it's murder."

"All things may require a few casualties. The numbers of those who would die are very small..."

"Base it on numbers again. A few thousand lives doesn't matter now. That's why I stepped down from my position. Not because I was afraid to go to war, but because I saw what this has become."

"I don't understand. You were the leader of the Shadows... why would you just give that up?"

"There were people below me willing to sacrifice their morales for power. I handed down my roll as leader to my son in-law and never looked back. When I left I never planned on coming back, but plans change and I'm needed once again."

"By the orginazation?"

"No. By someone or actually more like- someone's who need my help."


	30. Chapter 30

The large monitor flips on and an alarm echoes through the small room. Jeb continues to flip switches as Notch types something into the command center. On the screen, four glowing dots are connected in a square pattern; one white, one black, one red, and one green. However the white dot glows dimly and flickers out, leaving more of a backwards L shape then a square. Outside the control room, Kato continues to yell out orders to a group of Sky army recruits. The expansive bunker has become a place of pure chaos in the midst of attack.

"All extra troops are needed in the eastern province," the blonde scientist, or Duncan yells to the Sky army commander. "There's a large amount of Shadows leading an attack on the costal villages. I estimate their forces at around 10'000."

"The northern province is almost over run," Zoey cries in alarm, analyzing the screen with a look of horror. "If we don't send help there will be heavy casualties."

"There already are heavy casualties," a voice growls angrily, Kato shakes his head and motions to a group of recruits. "Head to the northern fortress and hold off the Shadows for as long as you can. If anyone in the Northern province is still alive they would be up there."

Another monitor begins to blink rapidly and alarms ring loudly throughout the bunker. Zoey rushes to the monitor and begins to read the data on the screen. The hood of her cloak falls back to reveal red hair tucked neatly in a side braid. "One of our legions just arrived in the southern province. If were lucky they should be able to hold them off long enough to get reinforcements over there."

"What reinforcements?" Rythian questions seriously. "The only 'troops' we have are former heroes, a handful of gods, and the Sky army. Well more like what's left of the Sky Army actually."

"What do you mean by that?" Kato growls slightly angry, and turns toward the hero. "As the current leader of the Sky Army I take serious offense to that comment. Not to mention that we don't have to be fighting for you guys, and no one else here brought an army with them. Why don't you call on the Mushroom enthusiasts to fight? I'm sure they would be more than happy to fight for their founder."

"Have you seen a Mushroom enthusiast, they're basically insane." Rythian growls and quickly adds, "No offense Zoey." She just shrugs in understanding and returns her attention to the monitor. "Not to mention that they're against violence in any form, and not particularly skilled in combat either..."

"What about the EnderCult then?" Kato questions seriously. "They're the closest thing we have to a group of assassins and they basically live and breath battle."

"I already sent word to some of my former colleague," Duncan adds, turning to nod to Kato. "Most of them agreed to bring more recruits."

"Which former colleagues are we talking about exacately?" Rythian questions with a slight frown. He had the feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

"The rest of the Yogcast generation of course." Duncan replies with a slight chuckle. "You think that they are just going to stand there while the world gets destroyed? Besides, it's about the we all stood for the same cause again."

"Whatever help you've got it will be helpful right now," Kato states and shakes his head unhappily. "We're outnumbered one to one thousand at the moment."

"Is it really that bad-" Zoey

questions as her monitor's alarm goes off again. "I lost connection with the southern temple. Anyone still have a signal?"

"The attacks started in the southern province, I'm sure it was over run by now. Kato, get a group of recruits over there to help survivors." Duncan adds and points to the large map on the screen. "We're losing ground... fast."

"It's to late for the southern provinces," Zoey growls, muttering a prayer under her breath. "Send any remaining recruits into the eastern provinces instead. If there are any survivors left down south they'll have to deal with this alone."

"Where are the demi gods?" Rythian questions. "They should be in the Capitol by now. We could use their help at the moment."

"Something threw them way off course," a voice yells from the command room. Notch steps out and shakes his head unhappily. "We're just going to have to make do with what we have."

"I don't understand, what are they aiming for?" Zoey whispers quietly, tracing the map on the screen with her hand. "These attacks seems almost random. What are they trying to accomplish with this?"

"It's a distraction," states a voice. Sky slowly walks toward the screen and motions to the various alarms. "Something else is happening. This is some sort of a distraction."

"Notch- you had better come see this," Jeb mutters, nodding to the coding room. "I think Sky might be right. This is a distraction. They're targeting the Void."

* * *

The silence that follows begins to drive me insane. Maria hasn't said a word since I questioned her about the journal, and that was well over an hour ago. Then there's the annoyance of the unusual amount of humidity and the fact that water continues to creep into the tunnel through any tiny crack in the ceiling. So there's always this quiet dripping sound in the back of my ear, like someone is playing some weird drum beat way of tempo. Not to mention that there hasn't been a sign of any human life in the cave system, and we're getting farther away from the underground river with every step.

"Do you know where we're going?" I question abruptly, not expecting any sort of reply from Maria. "The rivers back that way and this tunnel doesn't seem to be leading anywhere."

"I noticed." Maria growls through clinched teeth and continues to walk forward. "But it's a one way cave system, and unless you really want to go swimming again this is the only way forward."

More silence follows as we continue on through the unlit cave system. Being a miner, I know that we're still fairly deep underground, but we're now much closer to the surface than earlier. Not to mention that there's a slight draft blowing through the tunnel, meaning that there has to be an opening to the surface up ahead. Great if we want to get out of here, not so great if we want to find the others first.

"We're heading towards the surface," I mention quickly with a slight shrug. Maria's head instantly snaps back with the 'why didn't you mention this earlier' look. "I thought the tunnel might go towards the surface and then head downwards again..." I quickly try to justify my silence. "Most caves do, and thought this one would as well. Guess I was wrong though..."

"This is a disaster!" Maria yells out, kicking several loose stones several blocks. "I can't find Tyler- wont find Tyler. No, I have to find him- but what if I don't? What if he's lying somewhere injured and afraid, crying out for my help but I never find him? What then Steve?! He could be crying out my name right now!"

Maria sinks to the floor and curls up in a ball, green eyes staring wildly into space and twitching ever so slightly. I think this would count somewhere along the lines of an emotional breakdown. Ok, but if she is having an emotional breakdown... then how do I deal with it? "Maria you need to calm down." I begin quickly and sit down next to her. I doubt telling her to calm down is really going to help anything but I'm not sure exactly what else I can say to help her. "I'm sure Tyler is just fine, and we're going to go find him."

"Calm down?" She questions quietly, a certain edge to her tone worries me. "My brother is missing- he might be dead- and the first thing you tell me is to calm down!? What sort of advice is that?!" Two green eyes glare over at me before closing. "I need to find Tyler... now."

"Ok, let's go find your brother," I add quickly and jump to my feet. Maybe I should just let her calm down while we look for Tyler. I'm sure she's just overly worried about him and will calm down when we find him. At least I hope she does-

"You know more about caves then I do. So where do we go?" Maria questions sharply, still looking quite worried about Tyler. "We can either continue on or head back towards the river."

"Let's continue on then," I reply and glance up the tunnel. "This has to lead somewhere, and the cave system might branch off further up. If Tyler is awake he might be wandering around."

"Ok, let's go find my brother," Maria states seriously, focusing her eyes on the path way ahead as if it was a horde of zombie. "Don't worry Tyler, we're coming to find you..."

I just nod and follow along behind Maria. Right now it might be best if I simply leave her alone. I knew that she tends to be overprotective of her siblings since her parents died, but I never realized to what extent. Being a new spawn I never really had a family or siblings, so it's kind of hard to relate to her reaction.

Family, that's a word I haven't thought about for a while. My head reaches back to the strange vision I hade while I was unconscious. Did I- at least at one point- have a family? Was that woman my... mother? Its a possibility- but I doubt it... Then again, it is possible, right? I carefully wonder about the possibilities and remember another thing. She mentioned I had a sister. Does that mean I might actually have a sibling? Even if I do... why can't I remember them? I glance ahead at Maria and laugh silently at the thought. If I were in her situation would I be freaking out to find my sister? Something tells me I wouldn't be, or at least not as much as Maria is at the moment.

I laugh at the thought and continue down the hallway. The cave begins to brighten, and the hallway opens up to the surface. A cold breeze drifts over the ridge and I stare down at the trees below. We made it outside, but we still haven't found the others...

* * *

The read headed teenager slowly walks down the shadowy passageway. A large cut on the forehead stands out against the boys pale skin tone. Water lines the flooring of the cavern and blood mixes with water, forming a trail leading straight to him. Tyler limps forward, thrusting his feet through the murky water. One of the rocks below his feet gives way, plunging the young demi god onto his knees in the dark water. "Not now," he mutters weakly and leans against the wall. "I have to find Maria... and Steve. Have to get up and help everyone out." Tyler shakes his head with a sigh. "Something's happening right now, I shouldn't be feeling so drained."

Another figure slips through the cavern silently and carefully stops behind the teen. "Your kidding me..." a voice grumbles in annoyance. "Some how I managed to end up with the annoying one."

Tyler spins around and jumps up with a smile. "Herobrine! Yay, you made it," he cheers happily. "I would have preferred I ran into my sister or Steve first... but at least I won't be alone!"

"I would have preferred to not run into any of you," Herobrine mutters with a sigh. "So be it, just follow me and do not speak; your voice annoys me."

"Yeah, a lot of people tell me that," Tyler replies unfazed by the insult. The teen quickly runs after the white-eyed demi god who is already half way down the hall. "Do you know how we get out of here? Or where the others are?"

"What happened to do not speak?" Herobrine growls glaring slightly at the teen, "I don't know anymore about what has happened then you do. Now please be quiet so I can concentrate..."

"Ok," Tyler mutters, obviously unenthusiastic about the idea of staying quiet. He turns to stare out through the tunnel and quickly adds. "What's the plan for a dead end?"

"A dead..." The white eyed demi god notices that the tunnel has ended and quickly moves backwards. Tyler jumps back a few steps at the sudden movement and quickly glances at Herobrine. "Back up, you won't want to be anywhere near this" Herobrine mutters and pulls something out of his bag.

"Are you trying to blow the wall up?" Tyler questions curiously, trying to get a better look at the object. "There isn't a lot of air down here, and spells don't work, remember?"

"Do you really think I need air or a simple spell to blow up a few stone blocks?" Herobrine questions mockingly, "There are other ways to cause explosions then that..."

"TnT won't work, there isn't enough air to light a flame!" Tyler adds with a sigh and sits down, "Not even you can make things explode by just staring at it."

"True, or at least currently true," Herobrine agrees with a slight smirk. "You are a scientist, correct?"

"I believe that's mom called herself a scientist... I focus more on the technological side of things though. What does a scientist do anyways? No one ever bothered yo explain these things to me." Tyler replies thoughtfully. "Why do you want to know?"

Herobrine narrows his eyes and nods silently. The white eyed demi god tosses the package against the wall, watching the object curiously. Its silent for a moment, before a small explosion rips the stone wall apart and leaves a few stone blocks floating on the ground. On the other side of the exploded wall is another tunnel.

"How did you do that?" Tyler questions, staring with wide eyes at the crater. He moves forward and looks at the remains of the package lying on the ground. "What was that thing?"

"An explosion," Herobrine answers blandly, slipping through the hole and into the adjacent tunnel. "If you want to be exact, it was a chemical reaction. Not the most powerful one of course, but enough to blast a hole in the wall."

"Chemical reactions?" Tyler mutters curiously. "Umm... what is a chemical reaction exacately."

"When two or more elements are combined they usually have some sort of a reaction." Herobrine explains with a sigh and begins to walk through the new tunnel. "Sometimes the reaction is explosive."

"That's so cool!" Tyler cries out excitedly and runs after Herobrine."Where did you learn how to make stuff explode? I wanna' go to make stuff explode school! Maria would never let me go, but it sounds so exciting."

Herobrine sighs in annoyance and walks slighty faster. "A friend of mine used to experiment with some of the elements. I only bothered to learn a few combinations. There isn't a school you go to where you learn to blow stuff up."

"You have friends?" Tyler questions with a gasp and then shrugs. "Well I learn something new everyday... Hey, is that- its sunlight!" The red headed teen runs forward through the tunnel and bursts out into the open air. "Its the surface!"

The tunnel opens up onto a cliffside overlooking a valley. At first glance it looks exacately like the area on the other side of the mountains, but a mountain stands in the middle of the valley. This mountain makes the surrounding range look like an easy slope. The grey rock reaches up towards the sky and extends well above the cloud barrier. Only the mountain is split exacately in two.

"It's the capitol." Tyler yells and glances over the edge of the cliff. "If I remember right, the city was formed around the base of the mountain."

Herobrine pauses and stares out at the mountain confused. 'Why is it split in two? Was it like this the last he came here? No, it wasn't like this the last time he came here... but when was that?' He sighs and shakes his head unhappily. 'Perhaps I'll remember when I reach it.'

"Hey is that- Its Steve and Maria!" Tyler yells out and stares down the cliffside at another cavern opening. "Hey guys! We're up here!"

* * *

Shade watches silently as the teenagers meet up again. The Shadow chuckles slightly from her location on the hill and watches the reunion with amusement. She smiles and turns back towards the cave, slowly edging away into the darkness. Slowly she comes to a halt and glances around, having the strange feeling she's being watched. "I see your still here," Shade says with a sigh. "Fate, you have bigger problems to deal with."

"I'm not Fate, she left shortly after Herobrine woke up." A voice answers quietely. "Im her to talk to you Shade, you need to stop this."

"Stop what?" The humanoid Shadow growls angrily. "I'm not doing anything wrong, this is my job after all. My mission to be exact."

"Fate is fighting for what she believes in. What are you fighting for? You can say your country, but we both know how likely that is." The voice muses. "After all that's happend I doubt you feel any sort of loyalty towards them. Though most of the Elder family feels the same way."

"For my family then," Shade replies blankly. "I'm fighting for my family. At least... the ones that are still alive."

"They're still here Shade, perhaps not in the eyes of the Shadows, but they're still here." The voice whispers quietly. "They are still alive. They may be here, but they still exist. They still have thoughts and emotions, they still feel the pain caused by all of this death and destruction. Maybe they don't exist to the Shadows,but they're still here."

There's a long silence before the humanoid Shadow shakes her head sadly and mutters, "I know, but I don't have the ability to help them."

* * *

**CREEPY :/ hahaha there's going to be a lot of plot twists in the future! Sorry about the really long wait, but I had some... personal issues come up his week. Most of them relating to Final's Test Weeks :( *sigh* I made this chapter really long to try and make up for it. Sorry ! D: Hope you liked the chapter...**


	31. Chapter 31

**It's Sunday :) yeahhhh! I'm sorry this took me so long (I actually had this done Wednesday ._.) but my house is going through rather random power outages, and every time I try to publish the chapter... no power. It has has been annoying me. Oh, and its Finals week which has turned into random last minute project week... Thats life though. **

* * *

The lights flicker gently throughout the capitol city. You could almost forget what was happening beyond the rows of abandoned houses and the old cobblestone walls that divided the city from the landscape. That would be an almost though, and reality was always swift and forthcoming. Every alleyway was dark, no one walked the streets, and row after row of houses no longer have residents. The capitol city had once been the largest city in all of Minecraftia, and the fastest growing city at that. Almost three million people had once gathered under the base of the mountain, but that was back during the fifth era.

My smile fades as I walk towards the base of the mountain. That was in the fifth era when prosperity filled the land, but this is the seventh era and the human race on the edge of extinction. So this is what happens when you miss a thousand years, you come back and your race has almost been obliterated. I should make a note if that, just in case something like this happens to someone besides myself.

"Hey Lady, all residents should stay inside their homes until this is over." A voice calls out with an edge of annoyance. A man in his late twenties matches down the dim alleyway, his face screwed up in slight annoyance. "Did you hear me? You need to head home." The man growls, moving forward and grabs my arm. "Hello? Are you deaf? You need to go home now. The entire Empire is being torn apart by something."

"I'm traveling," I snap quickly and yank my arm away. "I just got into town a few minutes ago." His uniform looks familiar and the symbol on his shoulder shows two swords crossed in an X formation. I'm pretty sure that means he's part if the imperial army. "I need to speak with the King."

He looks confused for a minute before he bursts out laughing. It takes the man a few minutes to stop laughing enough to add, "wait... you're not serious, are you?" I just continue to frown at the man and nod. It annoys me that I have to come all this way only to be laughed at, but I mask my annoyance with a frown. "You think the King just talks to any person that waltzes into the city?"

"I have news on the attacks," I reply simply, deciding to leave out exactly how I came across the information. "It would be everyone's best interest if spoke with me."

"Everyone has 'information' on the attacks, they're happening almost everywhere at the moment." He sneers mockingly. "If I were you I'd head to one of the shelters and try to survive as long as you can. There isn't any help on the way, the Sky Army is trying but the losses have been staggering." The man sighs and shakes his head. "Things haven't been this bad since the Third Squid War."

"What about the gods? They could help us." I question. "If we're going to survive this we'll need their help."

The man looks surprised by my comment but shakes his head. "You think the gods actually care about what happens to us? Humanity is either going to stand together and survive its watch itself be torn apart. There isn't going to be any 'divine' intervention involved. Like the founders once said; we have to decide our own destiny-"

"And make our own luck, right?" I finish with a sigh. He looks over slightly confused but I shrug and add. "It's a REALLY old saying, dates back to the first era if you want to be precise." A frown crosses my lips for just a second when I remember exactly where the phrase is from. My past always seems to come back to bite me.

"Well... ok then. You still can't see the King, and I would advise you to head to one of the shelters immediately," the man states with a frown. "All citizens are advised to do so until the order goes out that everything is safe."

"Of course, all citizens should head to the shelters," I add briskly, letting a fake, thankful tone edge it's way into my voice as I walk around the corner and disappear down an alleyway. With a smirk I laugh slightly and quietly add, "but I'm not a citizen. Never have and certainly never will be." Besides, I didn't need permission to speak with the King or even to enter the palace. Those rules applied to citizens of the Minecraftian Empire, and I grew up in the Nether... the err- Netherian Empire of the Nether.

The conversation with the guard had taken a lot longer then I had expected, but sneaking into the castle could have a lot longer. I smile and pull the small wooden card out of my pocket. Running into a guard had actually been quite useful, being I can now use that idiots idea card to simply waltz into the castle instead of breaking in. It looks like some of the tricks Enra taught me might actually come in handy among humans; like how to pickpocket annoying guards for instance.

I smile a bit and carefully walk towards the castle resting at the base of the mountain. Step two of the plan is almost complete, but I still have a little bit to go. Right now only two things could mess this up; the human, or Steve as I now recall somehow dying, and that one other thing. Oh, and any random problem that works its way into my life; there seem to be a lot of those as well.

* * *

_"Steve, I was expecting you."_

_The voice snaps through my dream and swirls some sort of a vision into its place. A dark fog drifts through the blurry surroundings, I try to focus on some of the details but they looks distorted and blury. Everything seems out of focus except for a young boy standing alone through the fog. I recognize the kid as the same one from my previous vision, one that might have been me when I was younger._

_A second figure slowly walks out of the blury surroundings until he is about two feet away from the kid. The man looks quite old, most likely in his ninetys, with short white hair, and a black trench coat. He crouches down next to the kid and smiles slightly. "How are you doing with all of this?"_

_"I'm fine, mom seems really worried though," the child replies blankly. "Do you think her and dad will be ok when we're gone?"_

_The old man chuckles a bit and mutters, "you always have to worry about the others. It's ok to look out for yourself in a while you know."_

_"I know," the boy states calmly, and frowns. "I just- I don't want them to be sad... I hope that they'll miss me but-"_

_"Your parents won't forget about you." The older man says with a laugh and smiles just a bit. "They'll always rember you, especially your mother. It's slowly breaking her heart to see you go."_

_The boy's gaze moves downwards to the floor and he quietly mutter, "oh."_

_"I certainly won't forget you either," the old man adds gently. "You and your sister are the only grandchildren I'll ever have. Just remember that I'm proud of you and so is your mom." He smiles and quickly pulls a small metal object out of his trench coat. "Ah, here we are."_

_The younger version of me stares at the metal object curiously and asks, "whats that thing grandpa?"_

_"A good luck charm my dear," he replies with a smile and twirls the object around in his hand. The younger Steve stares at the object in confusion. "Here, hold out your hand."_

_The old man carefully places the object in the palm of the kids hand and looks expectingly. "That doesn't make any sense though," the kid says quietly. "You always said I was supposed to make my own luck." He looks down at the tiny cubic object in his hand and pokes it. "Why would you give me a good luck charm?"_

_I find my eyes glued on the small metal cube. Something about it feels very ...familiar, but I can't seem to place it. Then again, almost everything here seems farmiliar but i dont understand why i keep having these visons of a younge version of myself? Could i have actually had a family before I was a new spawn, and if i did, then what happend to them? None of my questions are being answered._

_"You have the same abilities as your sister," the old man mutters with a small smile. "You won't understand until your older, but never forget that."_

_"What do you mean by that?" The kid questions, moving his focus back to the strange metal cube. "What is this thing?"_

_"Im afraid I cant tell you what it is,"__ The old man replies with a laugh. "When you're older you'll understand what I mean, but until then you should hold onto it."_

_"I still don't understand what this is though!" Younger Steve adds and slips the metal cube into his pocket. "What does it do! Why do in need to hold onto it in the first place!"_

_"Someday this will make sense, I promise." The old man mutters with a sigh and gives the child a small hug. "Its a good luck charm, and it will always show back up again. As long as you have it I'm sure you'll be fine, and someday you might just understand why. You had better go now though, you're leaving in a few hours..."_

_The boy still looks confused, but slips the metal cube into his pocket and begins to walk away. He pauses turns around and adds, "grandpa, will you be here when I come back?"_

_"I'm not that old!" Grumbles the old man but he smiles a bit and nods. "Of course I'll be here, in fact I won't die until you both come back. How about that for a promise?"_

_"Well... I'll see you then," younder version of Steve adds and quickly walks away through the fog. His grandfather, possibly my grandfather smile fades away as the boy leaves. _

_"Someday you will understand... but I hope that day never comes."_

* * *

The vision fades away at the sound of a raannoy loud voice. "So... we're moving on soon, right? It's been like... four hours since we stopped walking." Tyler questions enthusiastically. The red headed teen leans against one if the oak trees, staring into the branches with boredom. "I know that you old people need to rest and all that stuff, but its been like four hours. We're never going to make it to the capitol at this rate!"

A loud sigh echoes from one of the taller trees, Maria silently jumps from one of the higher branches and hits the ground with a thud. "If you are going to just sit there you may as well go find Herobrine and scout out the area."

"I tried to follow him..." Tyler complains. "He made me come back here and watch you guys. Something about needing to be stealthy and me lacking the ability to be quiet."

"Can't say I blame him," Maria mutters and glances toward me. "You ready to leave Steve?"

I nod and slowly stand up with a yawn. "I'm ready when you guys are," I reply and walk over towards the siblings. "How far is the capitol from here?"

"Wait- I got this," Tyler says, pulling out a bulky metal object and typing something into the command center. "Approximately... 7'672 blocks to the capitol, give or take any trees we have to go around or ravines."

"About an hour," Maria clarifies. "It's about 3 in the morning we'll be fine."

I just nod and blink away the dream; these things are getting kind of weird. That's when I notice something, or more of the lack of something. "Wait, it's night time and we're in the middle of the woods with no shelter." I mutter and begin to reach for my sword, stopping only when I remember that no one else knows about the blade. "Where are all the mobs?"

Maria and Tyler both stare back blankly, and Tyler eventually bursts out laughing. "You never told him," Tyler yells out trying to stop laughing. "We completely forgot to mention anything about-"

"Mobs won't be attacking any time soon Steve," Maria cuts in with a sigh and glances around. "As to where all of the mobs are... well I'm not completely sure. Maybe they went somewhere?"

"I guess so," I say and stare off into the tree line. So this is what a world would be like without mobs... peaceful and without fear. What a strange place that would be...

* * *

The white eyed demi god slipped among the trees in complete silence. Of course silence was normal to him, but the lack of mobs was not. Not a single creeper sat among the bushes and the sounds of the undead did not break through the night. Herobrine frowns at the thought and slowly walks down the hill. 'Is something disrupting the mob spawners? That is unless- something else is happening.' The demi god stares out into the valley below.

Various grasses had spread out I to the valley and the "capitol" city surrounded the base of the mountain; surrounded by crumbling stone walls. Mountains surrounded the valley on all sides, and if something was happening it would be almost possible to get information out here. "Why would anyone live up here anyways?" He growls and focuses on the civilization; thinking back to happier times.

* * *

_"You don't always have to wait for me you know," Fate called out as she ran up the hill. "I know where the portal is, I can walk home by myself."_

_"It gets dark earlier during the winter, and you wouldn't want to run into a creeper on your way back." Herobrine replied with a sigh and began to walk away. "Why do you insist on coming to this village every few weeks anyways?"_

_Fate just laughed and added, "I can take care of a few creepers. As to why I keep coming up here- I like to visit my friends every now and then."_

_"Yes, but why do you have to keep visiting a human settlement?" He growled unhappily. "What could you possibly learn from humans?"_

_"How to be human?" Fate muttered quietly and glanced downwards. "It sounds kind of funny, but I don't really know... well anything about humans."_

_"Why would you need to know anything about humans, much less want to know." Herobrine questioned with a frown. "They basically try reach things they cannot and do things they cannot. Usually resorting to violence to fix arguments and looking down on those different from them. Not to mention the amount of landscape and materials that are constantly being destroyed."_

_"Yes, we are a wonderful people, aren't we?" Fate muttered sarcastically. "I'm human, your like... sort of human. I think you'd be surprised how similar they are. Of course you always refuse to even go near the town..."_

_"Humans annoy me," Herobrine added with a frown. "And my eye color has never really helped matters much."_

_"I will make a note of that," Fate said with a laugh and slowly walked through the woods. "Not everyone is evil you know, sure some people are, but some of us might actually be trying to help."_

* * *

**This chapters pretty boring and normal. Its introducing a new character and I'm setting up the next battle scene, a really big battle scene I've been waiting to write since the beggining of the story! ;) *laughs* you will never guess how it ends... Also note that I will try and get the next chapter up on Thursday and after that day I will have A LOT more time to write new chapters! *goes back to writing and drawing out diffrent cover art***


	32. Chapter 32

**Ahh! Sorry guys! This was supposed to be out thursday! *face palm* Well uh here's the chapter extremely late but still up. Anyways, I'm finally out of school for the summer as of today :D so I should have more time to write! Yeah! **

* * *

Everything is darkened, no light, no sound, just the horror of nothingness that seems to over run the city. It only took a few seconds to realize no one was going to open the gates, and a little bit longer for Tyler to blow a rather large hole in the outside wall. He's rather skilled at destroying things, and this is one if the few situations his ability is actually useful; its quite the opposite most of the time. Then the silence returns, and the four of us slip into the city completely unnoticed. The empire must really be falling apart if we can blow stuff up without anyone coming to investigate, and that probably isn't a good sign.

The city itself is beautiful in it's own kind of way, even with the stone walls slowly crumbling and the wood rotting away. I smile faintly and admire an old fountain placed in a small grassy clearing. Trees had grown up between the buildings weeds had worked their way in between the cracks on the pathway. Despite the poor conditions most of the crumbling buildings sill stand upright and that alone is impressive considering that nature is trying to retake the mountain...

"Why are there trees- well everywhere?" Tyler questions and glances around the decaying city. "This can't be the capitol city... right? It's run down and -" He jumps forward as the building behind him collapses and immediately yells, "I didn't do it! I promise you guys, it just... sort of-"

"The building simply collapsed Tyler," Maria interrupts with a grow. "It wasn't your fault... for once." Tyler relaxes a bit and steps away from the broken structure. "This is the capitol- I'm not sure what happened to it though. Last time I was here this part of the city was still populated... must be all these mass creeper attacks."

Everyone goes silent at the memory of the crater. "What do you mean by mass creeper attacks?" Herobrine questions abruptly. "There hasn't been a large scale attack since the fourth era."

Tyler laughs at the comment and adds, "there's been hundreds of them, we've been tracking the explosions. Not to mention me and Maria -lost... our parents to one of them."

Herobrine frowns and says, "if there have been creeper attacks at the magnitude your talking about... how come Notch or I haven't been notified? There hasn't been a sudden drop in the creeper population, and the only 'explosions' I have heard have been from nukes; humans killing their own race, not mobs."

"If enough creepers exploded at once it would have about equal force to a nuke," Tyler mutters thoughtfully and quickly jumps at a realization. "And all nuclear weapons have been banned since the end of the Tekkit War. So there couldn't have been any man-made explosions- those were creeper attacks."

"Then how come the gods haven't been alerted yet? They would know if something was happening." Herobrine argues. "I would know if a large group of mobs suddenly disappeared."

"Probally because the gods were suppose to be watching over Minecraftia. Instead, the world is being destroyed by giant explosion, and no one even took the time to see if something is wrong." Tyler states normally and smiles. "Most people just decided the gods have abandoned them... so don't expect much support." The teen grins even bigger and skips over to his sister. "Now let's go find king whatever his name is and force him to lend us support."

"We're asking for his support. We are not going to 'force' anyone to help us." Maria adds with a sigh and stares directly at Tyler. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Tyler grumbles unhappily. "I still think it would be simpler to just walk in and be all like: hey guys, we just got here, and this may sound crazy, but I've got a nuke... so help us maybe? Only it's not a 'maybe', because if he doesn't help we blow everyone up!"

Herobrine chuckles lightly and adds, "someone should make this kid a diplomat."

* * *

"Shade, it's nice to see you're back from your little vacation," Tact muses with a grin, and the Shadow appears among the darkness. "Everyone was a bit worried with your sudden absence... it's not like you to just... disappear for so long. Where did you go anyways?"

"I had to take care of something real quick," Shade replies blankly, and continues on her way through the darkness. "Nothing you should concern yourself with. Now, if you have time to sit here and ask rather pointless questions that don't concern you, then you obviously aren't doing your job."

"Perhaps you should take a vacation more often, it does wonders for your temper," Tact adds sarcastically and begins to follow the Shadow. "Did you kill her?"

Shade frowns and continues walking, trying to distance herself from the annoying general. "Thats not important, now go back to doing whatever you are here to do and stop asking me questions."

"So Fate is dead then?" Tact says with a smile and abruptly stops walking.

"No, she's alive. Everyone's still alive." Shade replies slowly, closing her eyes and shaking her head with a sort of disbelief. "This isn't going to work- well it wasn't going to work from the beginning, but now... how do we deal with this. Every course we can take will lead to violence and violence will led to death. Then death will lead to hatred and hatred leads... it leads to- to-"

"Umm... Shade, you doing all right?" Tact questions curiously and glances at the other. "What do you mean that it won't work? What won't work? You aren't looking so good..." The Shadow slowly approaches Shade and watches carefully. "Does this have to do with your random disappearance earlier?"

She pauses for a second and then nods slightly. "I'm fine- well not exactly, but I will be... soon. I spoke with someone earlier, and- well I started thinking about something from long time ago; about the original project."

"The original... oh you mean that thing," Tact replies with a laugh. "Does that even count as a project, I mean that was quite possibly one of the biggest failure in history. The entire project was based on nothing: no scientific evidence, no research, and certainly no experience with that sort of thing. Everything was weighed on those two, and what happened to them; one died and the other became a rather large threat to our organization."

"There was logic behind it," Shade growls and scowls at the remark. "I admit the plan was far-fetched and even a bit naïve, but there was a reason behind it."

"Like what?" Tact questions sarcastically and laughs at the thought. "Waste materials? Lose precious time we could have used to end this? Give the enemy another tool they can use against us? You can't even begin to justify it, there simply isn't any logic behind it."

Shade goes silent for a moment before slowly replying, "lets just say there... just happened to be two individuals... ." She carefully monitors Tact's expression before continuing. "So, these individuals happened to have a rather strange... ability; an ability that could be quite useful to the organization."

"One of these 'individuals' doesn't happen to be Fate, does it?" Twith inquires witgrin cocky grin.

She nods slightly and continues. "So these 'individuals' happened to have family rather high in the organizations; very high to be precise, and when news got out about these individuals 'gift'..."

"Did she even want to be part if the project in the first place?" Tact asks with a frown. "Surely you didn't force her to help you."

"Of course she wanted to help!" Shade blurts out angrily and closes her eyes to block the sudden emotion. "Originally she was ready, originally she believed what we believe. If the... disaster- hadn't occurred she still would. When she lost her memories she befriended the enemy and joined them; knowingly turning against us when her memories returned."

"The disaster? What are you talking about? Shade you're not making any sense." Tact questions immediately and stares off in bewilderment. "What is going on with you?"

Shade shakes her head and mutters, "right, you were recruited after the disaster. That makes sense of course, almost everyone on the original project was replaced after what happened." She sighs and turns away from the general.

"What is with you? You're in charge of the Shadow Project, what the hell is going on." Tact growls in confusion. "Explain."

"In charge of the Shadow Project," Shade mutters quietly. "Like my sister before me."

"Sister? I thought everyone in your family already passed away other then your father, and he belongs in a mental facility." Tact adds with a frown. "What happened to her?"

"After the loss of her to kids she started to get sick, and after her husband died in a training accident... she never got better." Shade explains quietly and stares into the darkness. "If only she had known..."

"Sorry for your loss... I never knew you had a sister- younger?" Tact questions and Shade nods in response. "But... what does this have to do with your disappearance and the original project?"

Shade pauses and silently debates something in her mind. She pauses and slowly nods before quietly replying, "she... she's my- niece"

"Your niece?" Tact mutters in confusion. "What do you mean... who...? You have a niece?Who?"

A smile flickers onto the female Shadows face before darkening into a look of sadness. "Let me explain from the beggining. The project was based on the magnetic properties of human blood cells. You see, a very small amount of individuals are born with slightly magnetic blood; not enough to bend metal or anything of that sort, but enough to distort something of microscopic proportions. It works like magnets; either pushing the particle away or pulling it towards themselves."

"Microscopic proportion...?" Tact questions, trying to peice together Shade's explanation. "Is there really anything magnetic that small?"

Shade smiles and nods. "Not in this dimension of course," she adds quickly. "Minecraft however... is made up of tiny microscopic lines of coding; most of them slightly magnetic."

"So someone with this 'gift' could manipulate the code?" Tact questions.

"Yes and no... with a large amount of practice they could manipulate the coding, but anything that happens would likely be by accident. The code itself cannot be destroyed oreplaced; only changed." Shade explains quickly and shrugs. "That's part of what made the experiment so risky; instead of changing the coding, the coding can turn around and attempt to destroy the user." Tact's eyes open wide and he frowns at the thought. "We learned that the hard way..."

"The disaster." Tact mutters quietly. "Is that what caused it? The code tried to destroy the user?"

Shade nods sadly. "There were two of them originally, a boy and a girl, the only people ever found with the ability, but when we sent them into Minecraft..." Shade explains and stops to shake her head. "There was unexpected turbulence. The boy died, but the girl narrowly escaped with her life and entered Minecraft; only after losing her memories."

"That girl wouldn't happen to be Fate, would it?" Tact asks carefully. "Is that why she turned against us?"

"She befriended Notch's brother and quite a few others, and when she later regained her memories." Shade explains with a sigh and looks downward. "Realized what would happen if her mission was completed."

"If she completed her mission... oh... right." Tact looks up in bewilderment but slowly remembers. "That explains some things, but what does this have to do with anything."

Shade smiles slightly and shakes her head, "well you see... my sister had two children. A boy and a girl..." She stares off into the darkness. "They were the two we sent to Minecraft." You see... Fate is my... niece."

* * *

**Ha ha ha plot twist ;) also congratulations to Myraid of Pixel for being the first to guess they knew each other. Also, sorry but i'm delaying the battle scene until either next chapter or the one after that because I have to set the whole thing up. Next chapter should be up (hopefully) in a few days.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Abetsjsvsjsuw it has been almost three weeks. IM SO FREAKIN' SORRY GUYS! D: I have enough excuses to fill a history book... legitely. The main one being I had my computer taken away due to the fact that I was "staying inside playing video games instead of running around in the sun." So I am now stuck writing\reading\reviewing on my phone. Which in considerabaly harder. Blah. Anyways, here is this chapter... *puts up a wall* please don't throw dangerous objects at me when you're done ._.**

* * *

The grayish hue of the Void had darkened considerably since the last time Notch had traveled to the area surrounding the remaining three dimensions. Parts of the Void had faded away into a shadowy darkness while other parts slowly continue to evaporate into small green numbers. Notch carefully treads through the destruction, staring off into the distance with a look of horror.

Some of the fog disappears beneath the gods foot, and Notch stumbles a bit at the sudden lack of flooring. "This place has always been too unstable," he complains unhappily. "Jeb thought they were targeting the Void, but I haven't seen a single Shadow here. Quite a bit of code is out of place but not a sign that they've been here."

He sighed and continued to puzzle over the destruction. "The dimension is certainly being attacked, but there is nothing here that could be possibly damaging it!" Notch frowns at the thought and continues to pace throughout the dimension. "What is behind this? There's nothing here! How can this all be caused by nothing, nothing at all!?"

A figure slowly approaches and frowns at the sudden noise. "Of all the people I could have been here... it had to be you," the figure mutters unhappily, growing slightly uneasy at the sight before her. "So... what was with the assassins?"

Notch spins around at the voice and calls out in alarm. "Fate!? How- I mean why are you here-" He suddenly pauses for a second. "Your the one who's weakening the Void, aren't you? I knew you we're working with them, I knew you had joined the enemy!"

"Joined the-" Fate tries to cut in, but stops as Notch continues to speak.

"It all makes sense now!" He continues, pacing around the crumbling dimension lost in thought. "That's why you helped the Shadows destroy the Aether, why you fled the Nether before notifying Herobrine that you had returned, and why you're here now."

Fate tries to argue but frowns and sighs when she realizes that Notch isn't done talking. "You're the one behind all of this! You've been secretly working with them the entire time!" Notch frowns angrily and snaps out of his thoughts. "What will Herobrine think-"

"Oh for goodness sake," Fate cuts in unhappily. "I'm on your side!"

"Explain why you helped to destroy the Aether then, and why you didn't alert anyone you had returned." Notch questions angrily. "And explain what you're doing here! What possible reason do you have to be in the Void!"

The girl sighs and replies, "I had to make a deal with them, ok? The code only accepted part of the prophecy, so I had to find my own way back. Besides, I only removed enough of the Aether's defenses so that the Shadows could enter the dimension. I never thought they would actually destroy it." Fate frowns and shakes her head. "I came to the Void because I knew it was the first place the Shadows would attack."

"How did you know they would attack here first?" Notch questions, his scowl deepening. "And why didn't you tell anyone when you returned? What could you possibly gain by everyone thinking that you're dead?"

A long pause follows the comment before Fate quietly answers, "I can't answer that."

"What, you think that your past is some big mystery? I know that you worked with the Shadows, and I have reason to believe you are still working with them." Notch growls angrily. "And to think that we actually trusted you-"

"I'm not working with them!" Fate blurts out. "I swear to- to- well I don't have anything to swear to, but I promise you that I'm not with them, ok?"

Notch pauses for a second before adding, "then explain what you're doing here." He continues to glare at the girl, completely unchanged by anything she had said.

"The same reason you're here." Fate answers with a sigh. "Well more or less the same reason. I believe we share an objective, as losing the Void would cause well... let's call it a power failure. Now I believe that we can both agree that allowing this to occur would have rather large consequences for the world In general."

"What sort of... consequences?" Notch questions slowly, his anger fading into worry. "I already know about the possibility that I will lose my powers." He pauses and refocuses on the girl. "And you know very well what will happen if that happens."

"Of course, and I for one don't plan on letting history repeat itself!" Fate responds with a frown. "You think the biggest problem is some petty little duel! I know everything that's going to happen, I have seen the statistics, and I know their plan. Do you think that the Shadows just randomly decided to attack the Overworld? Do you think that they just randomly decided to focus their attack on the Northern and Southern provinces?" She stopped to shake her head in anger. "It wasn't random Notch, everything was planned out a long time ago."

Notch's eyes widen in surprise and he quickly adds, "you know their plan! Why didn't you mention that before? We should be using this to our advantage!" He pauses and nods in anticipation. "Do you know what they're trying to achieve by destroying the Void then?"

Fate nods. "Sort of... well it's one of two things. Either they're trying to destroy your power, or they're trying to break the dimensional barriers." Notch frowns in confusion so she continues to explain. "If you lose your powers then the memory blocking spells will stop working, and if they stop working... well there will be a bit of a battle resulting in my death. Now if the dimensional barriers are broken, then we will have a serious problem."

"That's why they cleared out the Northern and Southern provinces first?" He mutters in horror. "The three realms have never been connected before; well besides the portals of course, such an event would have to cause- well it would cause-" Notch pauses for a moment and glances back at the girl. "That's there plan, isn't it?"

Fate nods but stops halfway. She stares off into the Void before returning her gaze to Notch. "Now that I've answered your question, I have one for you. What in the world were you thinking; allowing the human to travel with that group? I mean, what the Nether were you thinking?"

"Well- I needed to make sure that Maria and Tyler would go, and they would only agree if the human came along," Notch argues quietly. "So I simply let the human 'tag along' on the trip. No harm done..."

"But with the possibility that either of them could regain their memories at any time... it's insane." Fate cries out instantly. "At least if they were in the bunker you could have prevented a fight, but in a city!" She sighs loudly and shakes her head. "I wouldn't even know they were fighting until it's to late."

Notch pauses briefly and adds, "that would be bad... wouldn't it."

* * *

I walk down the abandoned street with Tyler at my side. The king had agreed to meet with us, but only with one person; being that we're supposed to be diplomatic, Maria was the obvious choice. She had a slight argument with Tyler over something before she left, something about not leaving me alone... Its been clear for a while now that those two both share some sort of secret that I can't know about. Though 'can't and 'won't' are two different words entirely, and I plan on learning what they're hiding after this is all sorted out.

Tyler runs ahead again, swerving around torch-posts and city signs as he maneuvers through the streets. I quickly run after the red head as he disappears around the corner. Wow that kid is fast...

"Steve, hurry up will ya'," Tyler's voice calls from the next street over. "I want to see the entire city, but there's no way we're going to make it that far if you continue to drag your feet!"

I smile at the kids irrational comment. Sometimes you have to wonder why he's so hyperactive. "Tyler, can you slow down a bit, please? Some of us aren't overly excited fifteen year old demi gods who can run forevor without getting tired." And by 'us' I mean me.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know," Tyler grumbles unhappily, stopping to wait for me. "You old people need to rest." I laugh at the comment as I catch up to the red head. The area ahead had crumbled completely, and wildlife had quickly reclaimed the area. It was nearly impossible to tell that this area had once been a flourishing community. "Hey, let's climb a tree or something!" Tyler blurts put and makes an insane dart for the nearest oak tree. Within second the teen somehow manages to scale the trunk and lunge up into the leaves. "Come on, the view up here is awesome!"

I shrug and slowly walk towards the rather tall looking oak tree. It takes a few tries, but I manage to scrabble up the tree. Tyler sits toward the edge of the leaves, staring off at the mountain. He notices me and yells out, "I didn't know that you can climb trees!" Wait, he invited me up here thinking I couldn't climb the tree?

"Anyways...I wanted to thank you for helping Maria," Tyler states, a sudden seriousness In his tone. "When we were living in the village she would talk to people occasionally, go mob hunting with a few others, but she never really... warmed up to anyone."

"Err... your welcome, I guess?" I reply in confusion, glancing downwards in embarrassment.

"You don't get it," Tyler says with a sigh. "When our mom and dad died Maria became well... serious. I guess that's not necessarily a bad thing of course, but you see when we were kids she was always so- happy... always smiling." The teen smiles widely and chuckles lightly. "Heck, she was almost as go lucky as me... well almost. However, when they passed away she stopped smiling, stopped laughing, stopped being happy." Tyler's eyes grow dark at the thought and he turns away to stare off towards the ground. "But then you came along, and in a month, a single freaking month, you managed to make her smile more than I have in six years."

I fall silent at the comment. It never really occurred to me before now that I was doing anything of the sort. Maria had always made sure I was alright, and we became friends. Did I really manage to change her that much?

"Sorry about the random sentimental speech," Tyler adds with a slight laugh. "You're kind of like the older brother I never had."

"I guess you're like a little brother to me, well an obnoxious hyper active little brother, but-" I answer honestly.

"What about Maria? Is she like a sister to you?" Tyler questions curiously, there's a sort of glint in his eye as if he's calculating something.

I pause for a moment and think about the answer. My sister... I don't really think of her like a sister... Not exactly," I begin slowly, trying to piece together some sort of an answer. "She's just a friend, a really good- friend."

Tyler grins and says, "oh you two are so oblivious. I mean honestly, does this happen to all people when they get to your age, because it's so obvious to everyone else but not to you."

"What's obvious?" I ask, raising my eyebrow. Though from the smirk on Tyler's face I have a feeling I know what he's getting at.

"Oh nothing, well nothing that you need to worry yourself about right now." Tyler just continues to grin like he knows something that the rest of the world doesn't. "Anyways... how long do these diplomatic meeting things go anyways? Maria has been gone for like... years!"

"It's been twenty minutes," I add with a glance at my watch. "So its probably going to be a while before we get any answers..."

"Hey, where did Herobine go?" Tyler blurts out randomely, glancing around for the white eyed demi god. "I mean he was following us like ten minutes ago..."

"I needed to check something out," a voice answers from a few trees over. He slowly emerges from the tree cover and stares upward at us. "Why exacately are you in the tree?"

Tyler simply shrugs and jumps down from the leaves. I follow his example and land a few feet behind Tyler. "Just because we felt like climbing a tree," Tyler replies honestly. "Where did you go?"

"I was trying to contact my brother," Herobrine replies with a frown. "For some reason this town has no connections with the outside world and I couldn't reach him. Its like something is going on outside the mountains but we're completely oblivious to it..."

"What could possibly be happening though-" I begin to speak, but my ears begin to ring slightly. The world seems to blur and the sound fades into the ringing. I have to grab my head when a sharp pain shoots through my mind. Slowly I sink down to my knees and continue to clutch my head. What the Nether was going on? Somehow I manage to see Tyler leaning over me in horror and behind him another blurry figure was clutching their head a few feet away.

Within a few moments the pain begins to subsidize, and I manage to release my head and wobble to my feet. Tyler looks on with concern, and the other figure remains crouching in the grass; still holding his head. "What the Nether was that?" Tyler questions in shock. "One minute your both fine and the next you look like you're about to freak out and die!"

"I'm not sure," I mutter quietely, trying to regain my balance from the sudden headache. "It appears to be over now. For me at least."

Herobrine remains completely still, his eyes closed. Slowly his eyes open and he glares at us, only his gaze is fixed completely on me, Tyler seems completely out of the picture.

"You."

I start to ask if he's doing ok, instead I narrowly miss the blade of a sword, one thats aimed straight for my throat. Quickly, I manage to stumble backwards a few paces as the white eyed demi god rises to his feet, sword In hand. Tyler's face appears about four shades paler then earlier, and he bolts forward screaming, "run!"

My mind doesn't even begin register the idea. Where would I run? Why was he attacking me?! I narrowly dodge another swipe, watching as the obsidian pass just millimeters from my arm. "I don't understand!" I blurt out in horror, continuing to retreat through the forest. "What are you doing? Why are you attacking me?!"

He doesn't answer, instead he draws his blade backwards for another attack. My mind races at the realization that I have to fight. The only weapon I have on me is that sword. Wait, the figure said I would need to use it in a battle to come, and that I would know when it was needed. I'm pretty sure this counts as needing it.

I quickly pull the sword from its make shift sheath, and hold it in the basic defense position that Maria taught me. The blade narrowly blocks the opposing force, and I still have to stagger another pace backwards due to the sudden blow. Tyler looks on in horror, he isn't carrying any kind of a weapon. "I'll get Maria," he yells out frantically and bolts for the castle.

Herobrine continues to attack, growing quicker with every blow, while I find it harder to block the incoming strikes. Suddenly the blade changes course, and cuts rather deeply into my left hand. I gasp at the sudden pain and stumble backwards grasping my hand. A warm liquid slowly runs down my palm, a few drops slowly dripping off into the grass. The blade swipes for my neck again, but I manage to raise the blade with my good hand, managing to stop it within an inch of my neck.

"I don't understand!" I blurt out, taking another step backwards. "What's going on? Why are you trying to kill me?" The answer is another attack. "What have I ever done to you!?"

The silence is broken by a pair of footsteps closing In on the clearing. I turn to spot Maria about three hundred blocks away, followed closely by Tyler. That's when the world seems to slow down. A sharp pain shoots through my body, and I look down to see the blade protruding through my chest. The blade leaves again, and I find myself falling. I hit the ground as someone screams out in horror.

Darkness edges at my vision, and everything seems to fade away. The pain in my chest dulls, and a cold settles over my body. Everything seems to swirl as I drift off into sleep.

* * *

**"SO, MISTER CLIFFHANGER, WE MEET AGAIN!"**

**So... I'm curious what you guys think about this chapter. Oh, and there's a new poll on my profile just for this chapter. So hahaha this is the ABSOLOUTELY WORST timing ever, but Im going out of the country for the next two weeks, and I don't know if I'll be able to update. So you are going to have to deal with wanting to know what happens for a while. IM SORRY D: **


	34. Chapter 34

**I'm Back from Japan :D... ._. I'm sorry for making you guys wait with the whole cliffhanger thing. Well I'm back now and this chapter is so long I was going to split it into two... but I decided to post all of it instead :D**

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**-End of Part Two- Start of Part Three-**

* * *

"What did you do?!" Maria screams, running for her fallen friend. "No. Oh dear Notch please no. No, no, no, no, please no."

"Maria, stop." Tyler cuts in, grabbing ahold of his sisters hand. "It's- it's to late. You need to calm down."

"No, not until I know for sure," Maria growls, pulling her hand away from her brother and continuing towards the body at a slower pace. She kneels down besides Steve and slowly picks up his limp hand. Tyler watches a few feet back as she tries to find a pulse. "He's not dead quite yet- but...

A sword is drawn behind the two, but Maria simply contours to stare at the ground and adds, "can't you just leave him? He's going to die anyways, and I don't know any restoration spells."

Herobrine hesitates for a moment, staring at Maria and the forest surrounding the four; soon to be three of them. "As long as he dies I'm fine with that." With a last glance backwards, the demi god sets off back towards the city; showing no remorse for the fallen hero.

Tyler grits his teeth at the comment but turns back to his sister when the other had left. "Maria... I don't know what to say."

"Everyone I care about dies eventually," Maria mutters blankly. "It was only a matter of time before it caught up with me." She pauses and slowly places the miners hand back at his side. "I'm sorry."

"Maria? Are you doing ok?" Tyler questions slowly, watching silently as she closes Steve's eyelids and stands up to walk away. "Maria, why aren't you talking to me?" He slowly walks to his sisters side and places his hand of her shoulder; trying to comfort the unresponsive demi god. "We... we should get back. There's a war to fight, remember?"

"Why are you so calm?" Maria snickers not turning away from her friend. "You don't look remotely sad, not even angry."

Tyler continues to grit his teeth. "Trust me Maria, I'm not fairing any better than you are, but I'm trying to keep it together, for your sake!" The red head sighs and drops his gaze to his dead friend. "When mom and dad died- well... me and Laura lost it. Not you though, you kept it together, kept our lives going despite what had happened; even though you were in just as much pain as the rest of us."

Maria stiffens, and Tyler continues to stand with his sister. After a few moments he nods slightly and motions back towards the town. "We need to get back," he adds softly.

"So we're just going to leave him here?" Maria questions blankly. "That seems rude..."

"We need to get back though," Tyler adds with a sigh. "Come on, it's time to go."

Maria silently nods and starts to walk back towards the city. She casts a last glance at the clearing before ducking into the bushes behind Tyler. "This is what happens," she mutters, staring at the grass below her foot. "To the people I care about, Tyler. Thisnis what happens..." The two continue on in silence, not noticing when the journal in Maria's bag disappears along wit the silver sword still at Steve's side.

* * *

The light is gone when I wake up. Instead it's cold and dark, where in the world am I? I stare around, trying to find anyone or anything who could tell me where I am. All I can remember is that Herobrine had attacked me... and then the wound. Surely I couldn't be- it would make sense though. Am I dead?

"Steve?"

I spin around at the sound, only to find no one. "Who are you?" I question cautiously. "And where am I?"

"You're here, but you shouldn't be, well not yet at least."

"Ok, but where exactly is... here?" I reply with a frown, I continue to stare out through the darkness. There's nothing there, so how is this person talking to me?

"So many questions..." There's almost a laugh in the voice, as if they found this conversation to be funny. "Then again, you were always a rather curious child."

That I wasn't expecting. "You knew me when I was a kid?" I blurt out. "Who are you?"

"My name is Sophie, or officially it's Sophia Elder. Well... it was anyways."

"Sophie..." I mutter under my breath. The name sounds familiar but I can't place it. "Do I know you?"

"Yes actually, though I doubt you would remember me after everything that's happened." The voice pauses, and a hand taps on my shoulder. "Try to remember me Steve. It's important that you know the truth."

I try to place the name but nothing comes up. Slowly my mind slips back to the dreams I've been having lately. Wasn't Sophie the name of... "Wait, you wouldn't happen to be-"

"You sure grew up in these six years. I almost didn't recognize you- but I will always recognize my own son." Wait, what?

"What- what do you mean?" I ask, even though the answers would probably be obvious to a rational person. "Where the Nether am I."

"Nether... oh I remember now, that's what the Minecraftains call the 2nd dimension. A very creative people they are, don't you think?"

"Minecraftian? What do you mean?" I question, searching for something, anything, that could explain where I was. "What are you!"

"I'm a human, or was one if you want to be completely accurate."

"Then where are you? Why can't I see you?" I add carefully and frown. "You still haven't told me where I am."

"You're here, and that's the problem. You shouldn't be here, not yet, not ever. I always wanted to see you again, someday, but not now and not like this."

"What? I don't understand what you mean!" I cry out on confusion. What in the world is she trying to say?

"You have to do it again, like you did before. Remember what you have to do! Defy them, defy everything they ever told you. It's a lie Steve, everything you were told is a lie, they can't kill you because you won't die."

"Umm... what." I manage to mutter out in confusion. "You aren't making any sense."

"No, you have to stop believing what they tell you! You can't win if you play by they're rules! Forget the reality that was created, forget the logic and ideas! It's the only way!"

"The only way to what?" I blurt out curiously. "I'm dead, right?"

"They can't destroy something that doesn't exist." What type if a response is that?! "They can't kill something that doesn't live." Didn't she just say that?

A figure slowly emerges from the emptiness. The woman is dressed in all black, long golden hair tied back in a bun, and sad gray eyes watching me warily. "Steve, I can't help you with this."

"Can't help me with what?" I ask with a sigh. "You aren't making any sense."

"Your sister's life was always ruled by her destiny. No matter what she achieved it was all planned out long before she was ever born." Sophie says sadly. "But you have a choice. A choice to be whatever you want to be." My sister?

"My sister," I add quickly. "Do you- do you know what happened to her? If she's alive? If she's ok? Where is she?"

"Oh, she is very much alive, but-" Her voice trails off at the end, like she couldn't finish the sentence. "She lost her way, and strayed away from the path."

"What path?" I question. "I don't understand! What am I suppose to do! Why am I here!"

"That's for you to decide," the woman answers with a smile. "Just make sure you pick the right path, and don't let your past affect your decision."

"What?" I add in confusion.

"They're going to test you." Sophie states plainly. "This will make sense soon my dear, as soon as this is over you will understand. Just remember... I'm proud of you, both of you- don't ever forget that."

"What?" I question as the world drops into darkness again. I'm dead, aren't I? Then why am I still here? Why can I still think and react! Maybe I should trust... my mother? I guess there are less logical responses to the situation.

Slowly I begin to black out again. Good. Maybe this time I won't wake up again. Or maybe I will? I guess time will tell. Though I can't help but wonder... what happened to the others?

* * *

Fate pauses for a second at the sudden energy change. Notch stops walking and glances backwards. "Are you feeling ok?" He question, appearing a bit concerned at the sudden movement. "Why did you stop walking."

"It's nothing." She replies quickly, shaking her head. "Just a little headache.., nothing to worry about."

The two continue walking through the Void. Notch hurrying through the decaying fog while Fate follows, slowing with every step and clutching her head. She suddenly gasps and grabs ahold if her left hand. "Well, that can't be good," Fate mutters through gritted teeth, closing her eyes in pain. "What the Nether is that human doing..." Her eyes snap open. "Oh."

"Fate?" Notch adds, turning back towards the girl and gasping at the large amount of blood staining her shirt. "What the Nether happened?"

"Not-ch, can you... check the power levels- please." Fate asks slowly, not even trying to stop the bleeding. "I think-"

"You need help!" Notch cuts in. "If you don't stop the bleeding you'll bleed-"

"Let me finish." Fate hisses, gasping at the sudden lack of breath. "Steve- something must have... tell Herobrine I'm- sorry." She slowly reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tiny silver pendant. "They can't- I need you to hold onto this."

"Wait what!" Notch questions as she tosses the pendant in his direction. "What do you want me to do with this? What is this thing!?"

"I've never- been able to... open it- but... it's important." Fate smiles grimly. "As long as they don't have this- everything will be fine."

Notch stares down at the pendant in his hand. "Wait, wouldn't that mean that Herobrine-" Fate simply nods in response. "But what happens to you? Do you die as well?"

"I... don't- die." Fate replies slowly, watching silently as her form begins to fade. "I go home."

* * *

Something brushes by my knee in the darkness. So I woke up again? Great... In another second it's gone again, and I spin around in confusion. What could it possibly be now? I mean I'm already dead, so I doubt anything can actually hurt me here, but-

Two blue eyes stare up at me through the darkness. Some sort of a... dog, sit about three feet from me, looking up expectantly. I start to two backwards, but it tips its head to the side and whines at my movement. The logical part of my head tells me to get as far away from the creature as possible, but I have to admit the creature looks familiar... and adorable.

I slowly kneel down, still keeping a few feet away from the creature. When I finally reach the ground it suddenly bolts toward me, and I stumble backwards; falling flat on my back. I brace myself for the attack but nothing happens. Slowly, I open my eyes and find the wolf inches from my face, only looking rather... concerned? For the first time I notice a red collar tied around the creatures neck. An identification tag hangs from the collar and I slowly read it aloud. "Wo-lf-y?"

At the sound of its name, the creature sits up; waging its tail happily. I sit up and hesitantly reach out towards the creature. "Good... dog, wolf thing?" I add, and scratch behind its ear. The creature barks happily before jumping up and running a few feet. It looks back expectantly and barks, turning its head from me to the darkness ahead. Does it want me to follow it? "You want me to follow you?" I question, ignoring the fact that it probably can't understand me. Wolfy barks again, and starts to trot into the darkness.

"W-wait up!" I yell out, jumping to my feet in pursuit of the animal. I follow the Wolf for what feels like hours before it comes to an abrupt stop. It leans over and picks something up. Once it has the object securely in its jaw, Wolfy turns around and races back towards me. I jump back at the sudden movement, but the wolf simply trots over and drops some sort of a leather object in front of me.

"Wolfy... what's this?" I mutter under my breath as I lean over and pick up the object. It appears to be made of leather, bound like some sort of a... book. Staring down at the object in my hand, I notice a symbol engraved in the cover; the same symbol as my sword... "This is that journal from the abandoned mineshaft! The one Maria... the one she didn't want me to read."

The wolf looks up happily, rubbing its head against my leg encouragingly. "I can't read this! I promised Maria that I wouldn't!" Then again, what was she trying to keep from me? Maybe it has to do with... My curiosity gets the best of me, and I flip to the front page; It's blank. "What?" I mutter abruptly, flipping to the next page in surprise. "I swear there was a page here last time!" The next page is blank as well, and the next, and the next page, and the next page. All of the pages are either blank or burned away; like someone still doesn't want me to read it. Pretty soon I've flipped through almost the entire journal, when my hand stops on the very last page. There's writing on it.

_-This is probably going to be my last entry, I guess that's fitting being this is the last page of my journal. Funny, I always hoped to as this thing finished, but now... well I'm sad to see this day. When I started writing in this book, I had just lost my home from the fire that tore through the forest. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I almost wish I was still there, still fleeing for my life. At least then I knew I could get away from the thing that was trying to kill me. Not like now though, I can't run here, not anymore at least._

_I thought my troubles were over when I defeated the Ender Dragon. I thought that Minecraft was safe and that all of human kind could be at peace, that I could be at peace. Human kind is safe now, and I'm proud of that, but I can rest. My destiny was to fulfill the prophecy, to defeat the Ender Dragon; at least that's what the villagers proclaimed. But for some reason I don't feel fulfilled, its like there's something I need to do but I don't know what. Funny, huh? The voices of the End told me that I would begin a new dream. But this dream has turned into a nightmare._

_He is almost always there. Watching in the distance, or sometimes only a few feet away. I can't sleep at night anymore, my dreams always seem to distort. Reality feels so far away now, I can't tell what's real and what's not. The only thing that was keeping my sane is gone now as well, Wolfy, my only companion is gone now. There isn't really anything keeping me in this world anymore so I'm going to the mountain tomorrow night. I guess it's only fitting I spend my last night in my old mine; I'll always be a miner not a hero. Guess this is it then because I'm running out of space. Maybe someday someone will find my journal? Maybe. __-Steve_

* * *

**-Time Change-**

"Auntie Shadey!" A squeaky voice calls out cheerfully. The golden haired girl bounds up from the bench, her red dress twirling at the movement. "You came!"

"Of course I came," the voice answers with a slight laugh. "You didn't think I would miss my favorite neice's birthday, did you?" A woman dressed in all black with dark brown hair turns the corner, kneeling down to give the girl a hug; blue eyes sparkling happily, "How old are you now? Six? Seven? Maybe... eight?"

"I'm nine now!" The little girl replies with a laugh. "You know that aunt Shadey!"

"I guess that means you'll be eleven soon," the woman mutters quietly, her eyes darkening for a second at the thought. She quickly dismisses the thought and a smile returns to the woman's face. "I got you something."

The child's eyes light up at the mention of a present. "Really? Can I have it? Please?" Two silver eyes stare up hopefully. "Please auntie?"

"Well- when you say it like that its hard to say no." The woman agrees, pulling the bangs out of the little girls face. "You look so much like your mother..." She shakes her head and quietly pulls a tiny package out of her bag. "Happy birthday, Fate."

Fate smiles and picks up the small package. "Can I open it now or do I have to wait until the party."

"You can open it now if you want too." Shade answers with a smile, motioning to the package. "I think you'll like it."

The little girl rips the small package in two, causing Shade to chuckle at her enthusiasm. "The present isn't going anywhere you know," she adds as Fate stares into the remains of the package and slowly reaches for the silver object inside.

"What is it?" Fate asks, lifting the thin chain up towards the sky to get a better look. She quickly notices the star pendant at the end and stares at it with wonder. "Is it a star?"

"Sort of, it's a necklace," Shade replies, lifting the object out of the girls hand. "If you pull on this clasp the star comes apart..." She slowly twists the object and opens the tiny lock. "And inside is a picture of our family."

"Really?" Fate question in amazement, reaching towards the locket and looking at the picture inside. "It's me..." She slowly moves her hand to the other three figures. "Mom... dad... brother." Fate slowly turns the pendant over and looks at the other side. "What's this?"

"Hmm?" Shade looks over at the question and notices the other side. "Oh, you mean that..." She nods to the other side of the locket. "Grandfather thought it would be a good idea if you-"

"This is for the kill code, isn't it?" Fate finishes quietly, her eyes dropping from the necklace to the floor."Something that I can carry but no one would think to check."

"Well... yes, but I meant it as a present," Shade finishes, quietly wrapping the little girls hand around the necklace. "Happy Birthday, Fate."

**-End of Time Change-**

* * *

Something moves next to me and I force my eyes open in the darkness. Wolfy looks up happily, continuing to wag his tail. How did I get here? One second I'm leading my he journal, my journal, and the next second i'm lying on the grounds who knees where. This darkness feels different though and the flooring is covered in a tan stone block. The sky remains dark like it was earlier yet there's ground now? I look down in confusion and notice another thing; since when has my hand been see through?

I hold my breath and stare down at my hand. Its not just my hand, it looks like I'm disappearing. What would that mean? My stare moves to Wolfy, like let journal claipet was once my pet, and I notice that the wolf also appears to be disappearing.

"So the hero decided to wake up after all," a voice echoes through the darkness, barely containing a slight snarl. "I was almost hoping you wouldn't wake up... almost."

My head snaps up at the sound and I find myself below a rather tall obsidian pillar. I slowly stare up the pillar, and squinting against the darkness I find the source of the voice. A silhouette against the already dark sky; I find myself staring up at a dragon. "Hello... Steve."

* * *

**Oh yeah! Almost 4'000 words... new record :D ... Well for me at least. Optimism for the win ;) Anyways, so where is Steve? Is he really dead? I will answer that question next chapter. Sorry again about the wait and hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

**(Also sorry to all of the Authors whose stories I usually review, I couldn't find Wifi in Japan... which may sound weird but its true. I'm trying to go through and catch up but it may take me a little while SORRY D:)**

**-Infinity**


	35. Chapter 35

**YEAH! *throws confetti* I'm back :D *trips on confetti* wonderful... just wonderful. **

**Anyways, I know that I haven't been very active lately and that when I have been on I've been kind of distant. Some things have been popping up in my life right now that I've had to deal with. Also because I went to camp... which wasn't supposed to be a problem cause it was video game camp but I somehow ended up in the 2nd hardest class... (at least I'm not a programmer XD...) **

**But I swear if one more person walks up to me and starts talking about how awesome this random game is I will turn around and smack them ... and I'm not a violent person. It just happens that much... 0_o too much time around other wonderfully geeky people starts to affect your mind... **

**Though there are nice points like talking about random animations on YouTube for 6 hours with the person sitting next to you. (:3 you can never get bored talking to animators, they will somehow find a way to change the subject from Zero to Meet the Pyro within ten minutes. Game designers are usually nice, but artists kind of just glare at you to go away while their drawing... programmers are always busy and the sound affects and music people all of headphones in... and everyone was kind of jealous of the game designers because they got to take a field trip... to Valve ._. *majorly jealous*)**

**Anyways... I don't know why I'm talking like crazy right now. You guys probably just want to read the chapter XD. Sorry about that, I just started randomly typing...**

* * *

I really wish reality would make up its mind and pick a freakin' color. One second the entire world fades into darkness and the next I find myself blinded by an enormous amount of light. It's like some insane child is flicking a light switch on and off! Not that it would surprise me though...

With a rather long sigh I start walking in a random direction. If I keep standing here my mind will drift onto subjects I'd rather not think about. Especially with the fact that I will be meeting with these "subjects" in a rather short period of time. I would prefer to not think about the inevitable until it happens... which in my case should be rather shortly.

The ground seems to disappear below me as I step forward, causing everything to tumble in a downwards direction. "Really," I mutter under my breath, growling at my luck as I fall in a downwards direction. Or at least I assume the direction is downwards... I never stopped to consider that. My thoughts are cut short by a sudden burst of light and I find myself quickly consumed by the flickering purple before everything disappears. Maybe this is how I go home? I frown slightly at the thought and close my eyes.

After a few seconds the world seems to have stopped spinning and I carefully open one eye to check on my surroundings. The first thing I notice is that the area above me is still darkness but I'm not floating anymore. My eyes drift towards a figure in the darkness and I nearly growl at what I see. "The End! Really!" I mutter under my breath. "Can I just die already!" Of course the rational part of my head realizes that I'm talking to myself but I continue anyways. Maybe this will help pass the time? "Because I-" There's movement in the distance.

"There's a dragon now?" A human voice says blankly. "Why is there a dragon now? How does this even work?!" That voice sounds kind of familiar... wait, Steve? "How did I even get here?!" I would laugh at the confusion in his voice but technically I'm in the exact same situation...

"So the chosen hero has come to the End once again..." Another voice calls out, echoing through the clearing with a much deeper tone. "It appears that luck is on my side this time." Slowly, I manage to stand up and try to get a better look at what's going on. The human, Steve, appears to be staring at something quite high in the sky. My vision slowly adapts to the darkness as the figure atop the obsidian pillar takes form; the Ender Dragon.

"No," I mutter in horror, staring at the two. "You have got to be kidding me..." I'm not sure how much damage the dragon can actually do considering we're already dead but...  
"It appears I will get my revenge after all," the dragon calls out, suddenly lunging off the pillar and straight towards Steve. Really? They have to do this right now?! My feet start to run towards the two expecting some sort of a fight, but the dragon suddenly halts about ten blocks above the human and slowly lands on the ground a short distance away. "Because the same thing has become of you..." Wait... what?

"What?"Steve replies quietly, appearing quite shocked by the sudden movement. "Why is everything attacking me?!" It stopped? I can understand why it would attack but... why would it... stop?

"You do not hold the memories of our battle," the dragon's voice states simply. "I have always expected to seek revenge but it appears that the universe has already done so." Steve looks even more confused at the answer. "You do not understand, do you?" Two purple eyes snap to the side in my direction. "There's no use in hiding, Fate, you may as well join the conversation."

With a slight frown I slowly move towards the two. Steve looks slightly relieved at the presence of another human. Well... at least until he puts two and two together... "Wait, I know you!" He blurts out, I can tell that the pieces are slowly fitting together in his head. "You were there when the Nuke went off, you're the one who gave my that sword!"

'The one who have me that sword'... wow ... "Impressive memory kid," I mutter sarcastically under my breath. With a sigh I slowly nod and add, "yup, that's me."  
"Who are you?" He questions casually. Well that's a stupid question... not that he knows that of course. I never actually stopped to think how little Steve knows about the situation. "Why are you here again?" Maybe I should have told him? At least some of it might have come in useful... I continue to ponder on the thought, completely ignoring the other human. "What is going on!"

The sudden rise in noise snaps my mind back to reality. "What? Sorry I wasn't listening." I reply honestly. Not that I always tell the truth of course...

My answer causes something in the boys gaze to snap. "This is a dream," he mutters quietly, staring off blankly. "I'm probably just asleep somewhere." I would point out that technically he is 'asleep somewhere' but I get the feeling it isn't the same thing he was referring to. Also because that seems a bit cruel. "I should have realized it earlier!" He continues talking, growing more sure of his explanation. "I mean it's not like the Ender Dragon is actually here! I'm dreaming!" Steve turns straight towards the dragon. "This is a dream! You're not even real! This is all an illusion!"

Without thinking, the human extends out his hand towards the dragon and... pokes it in the head. He blinks a few times when the creature doesn't disappear. "I can assure you that I am as much of an 'illusion' as you are." The dragon growls in annoyance before focusing back on the human. For a moment everything falls back into silence. "It is true then... you no longer posses the memories of out battle."

Steve looks up in surprise, the comment appearing to have snapped him out of the disbelief from earlier. "Battle..." he trails off, uncertain as to what the dragon is talking about. "I remember the journal talking about the first hero defeating the Ender Dragon." That comment in particular draws my attention. As far as i know, Herobrine was the one who killed Steve, and that would mean that he managed to regain his memories. However if that was the case... wouldn't Steve have regained his as well?

"I see..." the dragon murmurs thoughtfully, it's voice still echoing through the nothingness. "You and I are not that different." It smirks slightly and stares straight at the human. "Well not in the general sense of course, you being a pitiful excuse for a being who barely has the mental capacity to understand the basic components of speech-"

"Is this why I killed you the first time?" Steve adds with a frown, cutting off the insult. "I'm not sure how long I have to be here before well..." He briefly glances down at his hand. "I want to know why I killed you before I disappear." So Steve noticed that he's disappearing...he's quite a bit smarter then I've been giving him credit for.

"Very well then, I'll try to explain from the humans perspective..." The dragon frowns, thinking carefully over it's next words. "There was a prophecy a thousand years ago that spoke of a dragon arising to destroy the Overworld and all of its inhabitants." So far everything sounds true... "The small human villages were already in a state of panic from a large amount of mob attacks and they were worried about their lives." Mob attacks? Well I have a guess where those are from...

"Ok, but how was I involved in this whole mess!" Steve asks impatiently. "The world is in chaos and a dragon is suppose to kill everyone!"

The Ender Dragon growls at the comment. "If I am going to explain this than you will listen quietly." Steve falls silent at the remark. "Good... now, where was I? Oh yes, so at this time a decree went out that a Hero had been chosen to kill the dragon and save the world." The dragon snickers at the thought before continuing. "That hero would be you, and that dragon would be me..."

"Wait, you were going to kill everyone on the Overworld!" Steve blurts out in horror. "Why the Nether would you do that?!"

"I wasn't going to kill everyone on the Overworld," the Ender Dragon snaps unhappily. "Only the humans... the other creatures would not have been harmed unless they stood in my way. You see humanity is the only race I despise." It turns away at the thought and eventually adds, "You do not realize why I wished to clear the world of humans, do you?" Steve shakes his head in reply. "I'm sure that there are people in your life that you want to protect, right?"

"Yes..." Steve answers, clearly uneasy at the comment. What sane person would be relaxed after revealing one of their greatest weaknesses to the Ender Dragon? "I guess you could say that."

"Then how would you feel if one of those people was suddenly killed?" The dragon questions carefully. "How would you feel if they had done nothing wrong and were killed without reason. How would you feel if this did not just happen to one creature but many? An entire race being massacred for being a 'mob'. All of the beings you care about killed because the humans simply can't share the Overworld!" ...oh "Enderman are peaceful unless provoked! Yet the humans still chose to kill them! How would you feel, knowing that you posses the power to kill off the ones that caused so much pain?!"

Steve pauses for a moment and quietly asks, "So you were just trying to protect the enderman?" So that's what the dragon means... "But couldn't you have just talked to the humans? I'm sure they would have left the enderman alone if you had just talked to them-"

"Because the damage had already been done." The dragon growls angrily. "I didn't want 'peace' I wanted revenge! I wanted to know that the creatures that killed them now rested in a fiery grave! That no enderman would ever have to worry about meeting their end at the tip of a sword again!" It grows silent for a moment and slowly bows its head sadly. "That sort of thinking is exactly why I'm here." The Ender Dragon pauses and moves its gaze back to Steve.

"What happened to the enderman after you were killed?" He asks quietly.

"I came here, and I have watched for the last thousand years as they met their end... one by one," the dragon replies sadly. "You're friends are going to die. Each and every one of them will meet their end at the hands of the Shadows. Even if you disappear before that happens, you will still know that if you hadn't died you could have helped them." So that's what she means by revenge... I never stopped to think about that before. "They are going to die and there's nothing you can do to help them."

With that the dragon turns and lunges back into the sky. Flying towards one of the obsidian pillars in the distance. "Because of... me?" Steve mutters after a rather long pause. "I can't help them now... what if they need my help? What if they die?"

My instincts are yelling at me to try and comfort him but there isn't much I can really do. Saying that everything is going to be alright is a pretty obvious lie and I doubt the truth would be any help in this situation. "Steve?" I begin slowly. "Are you doing ok?"

He pauses at the sound and slowly notices me. "Oh, it's you." Steve adds blankly. "Why are you here?"

"Sorry, I never properly introduced myself. My name is Fate... Fate Elder actually." I reply calmly, trying to ignore the vacant stare. "Err... I can explain some things if you'd like." He looks confused at the comment so I quickly add, "I mean about why Herobrine attacked you."

Steve snaps back to normal at that comment and quickly nods. "That would be nice... I guess... I would like to know why he randomly attacked me." He adds quietly, still unsure as to who I am.

Now, how do I explain this... "I guess I should start at the beginning," I begin and motion to the ground. "Umm... you might want to take a seat it's actually a really long story." He nods and takes a seat, leaning against the obsidian pillar and I awkwardly sit down a few feet away. "Now how to begin..." With a sigh I start to explain. " A long time ago... you could say I was Herobrine's... friend."

He looks up in suprise and quickly yells," you were friends with-"

"Yes," I growl uneasily, cutting of the comment. "I'm sure that's a bit surprising to you but it's true, ok?" With a sigh I shake my head. This is going to be a lot harder then I thought. "I actually have a lot to do with why he killed you... twice." Steve looks up curiously but doesn't say anything, obviously wanting to hear my explanation. "Anyways, I was killed while I was away from the Nether, and when my body was found the only clue as to what attacked me was a sword." I pull the ancient weapon out of my bag and hand it to the human. "Your sword..."

"I killed you?!" Steve blurts out in horror, fingering the name engraved on the handle. "Why would I do that?!"

"It wasn't you," I explain quickly. "He thing that killed me framed you so that he would go after you."Steve lets out a sigh of relief at the comment. "But it made the mistake of telling me it was going to frame you, because I have a... gift... that allows me to change the Code."

"The Code?" Steve asks out of confusion. "What's that?"

I pause before answering,"it's hard to explain. Everything and everyone is made up of Code. Its what decodes if we're a human or a block of dirt. Only a few people can interact with it and it's completely made of numbers." He nods slowly, probably trying to imagine tiny numbers making up the entire world. "Anyways, before I... died, I created a prophecy that would allow us to return in a thousand years and try and fix everything."

"You created the prophecy?" He asks in surprise. "I thought that Notch was the only one who could do that."

"Nope," I reply with a slight smile. "So a thousand years after your death we both came back as new spawns. The problem is that the prophecy ties us together, so when you died I died as well.".

"Oh... sorry about that..." He apologizes quietly, still unsure of exactly what had happened. "I didn't realize you would die as well... though I wasn't expecting to die in the first place."

"No it's fine, I mean I was the reason you died both times," I add with half of a smile. "Honestly, I should be apologizing to you not the other way around."

Steve nods and we both sit silently for a few minutes. I glance down at my hand and notice how quickly I'm disappearing... can't be long now... I guess. "So... what happens after we disapear?" He asks calmly after noticing my hand. "Is that the end?' Steve laughs lightly at something. "Well I mean we're already in The End, but what happens after that."

"I'm not really sure," I reply with a shrug. Well I know where I'm going, but... what about Steve? "Guess we'll find out eventually, right?" He nods in response and we continue to sit in silence. I start to zone out when something furry jumps right in front of my face and bounds over to Steve. "What the Nether-"

The furry mass runs right up to Steve and drops something at his feet. A wolf sits down a few inches from the boy and wags it's tail expectantly. "Wolfy!" Steve calls out in surprise, and scratches the Wolf behind its ear. He looks down and notices the object the creature brought him. "What's this?" Steve picks up the object and twirls it around in his hand. "That's not possible..."

I glance back towards Steve at the comment. "What's not possible?" I ask curiously, trying to see the metal object. Honestly, we're in The End, with a magical spirt wolf... what isn't possible at this point?

"It's the good luck token from my dream..." He mutters and carefully stares at the object. "But that was just a dream... and why would it be here of all places?"

"Oh, that thing was yours?" A voice calls out from atop the obsidian pillar. The Ender Dragon looks down curiously. It somehow managed to return to the pillar without being noticed. "That thing has been here since you came here the first time... I think you accidentally left it behind."

He looks up curiously before glancing at the metal object. Both of us are almost completely see through at this point so it can't be much longer until we disappear. "Good luck, huh," he mutters and tightens his hand around the object. "I guess we could use some of that right now..."

"Yeah, we could," I reply with a slight smile, and stare up into the darkness again. "We really could."

Steve closes his eyes and mutters, "Apricot, Brandon, Stripes, Mark..." His hand tightens around the token tighter. "Maria... I'm sorry guys but it doesn't sound like I can help you now." A white light starts to wedge its way into my vision and I nod to the other human before drifting off.

* * *

... *discretely hands Tyler an iPod filled with J-pop and K-pop music so I won't have to answer questions about what is going to happen to Steve) EVERYBODY RUN FOR YOUR LIVES~ :D (next chapter will be up A LOT faster than this time... Sorry about that again D:) *runs like heck*


End file.
